Only Time Will Tell
by Luvlante
Summary: This is the story of the meeting of Dante Falconeri and Lulu Spencer and how their relationship grows from there.  They meet after Dante is no longer undercover and has found out his father is Sonny Corinthos.
1. Chapter 1

**I have no idea what made me decide to try to do this but here goes. This is my first attempt at FF. Please read and review. I have an idea where I'm going but not a lot of time so it may be a while for updates. **

Chapter 1

Although he was exhausted, he decided to drop by Lucky and Liz's engagement party anyway. He figured that they would be hurt if he didn't at least make an appearance. He had been working a murder case day and night for the last three days and really needed to go home and get some much needed rest. As he boarded the Haunted Star, he saw a beautiful blonde at the railing looking out at the water with a pensive look on her face. As he went by, he nodded his head and said, "Hi". She barely acknowledged his greeting as Dante passed by her on his way into the Casino. Dante wasn't sure but he would bet his next paycheck that the beautiful blonde was Lucky's sister, Lulu. Lucky had mentioned that she might be coming. Lulu had been in Milan, Italy for the last couple of years running the Crimson European edition but Lucky had been working on her coming home for the party for the last couple of months.

As Dante entered the casino, he saw Lucky at the bar with Liz and Tracy by his side in what seemed a very intense conversation. Dante approached them and said, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything but I just wanted to drop by and offer my congratulations."

Lucky was the first to respond, "Thanks Dante, I really didn't think you would be able to make it tonight, you must be exhausted."

Liz nodded in agreement and Tracy turned to leave. Dante had never understood why Tracy had never really taken to him. Ladies usually were all about him. Dante thought he could be quite charming. Maybe it had something to do with her player husband, Luke Spencer.

Dante gave a short laugh "You could say that. If you don't mind I think I'll have a drink and run on home."

Lucky asked Dante if he wanted his usual, "Bottle of beer?"

Dante replied, "You know me so well. I'll take one." While he was waiting for the bartender to bring him his beer, he asked Lucky, "Was that your sister outside?"

"Yeah, she said she needed some air. I think being home after such a long time has brought up some not so great memories. Her and Tracy have already had some heated words," said Lucky.

"Oh, they don't get along?" He was glad he wasn't the only one Tracy didn't take to.

"They usually get along but Tracy thinks Lulu should quit Crimson and come to work at ELQ."

"Isn't that the Quartermaine's family business?"

"You could say that but the only family that runs it anymore is Tracy. Edward is all but retired and none of the Q kids have an interest in it. Tracy has been running it on her own for years now and I think she's getting tired but there's no one to take it over from her."

"I thought your sister was running Crimson in Europe?"

"She was but Kate has decided to close it down and bring Lulu home to help Maxie run Crimson's North American edition. It seems that the European economy has put a big hole in profits relating to fashion and that would include fashion publications." Lucky looked over at the door and Dante's eyes followed. Lulu was coming in from outside. It looked as if she had pulled herself together and calmed down a little. Lucky motioned for her to come over to the bar.

"Lulu, I'd like you to meet my partner, Dante Falconeri."

Lulu looked a little embarrassed. "I'm sorry, you're the guy who said hi to me outside and I pretty much just ignored you. I'm usually not that rude."

Dante said, "that's okay, you looked like you had a lot on your mind." As he looked into her eyes, he couldn't believe how beautiful she was. He had seen pictures of Lucky and his family at work and at Lucky's apartment but they didn't do Lulu justice. He always knew she was attractive but in person she had this bright aura about her that seemed to make her eyes and skin glow. She made you want to just stare into those eyes to find her soul and you just knew that it would be just as beautiful. Wow, I must be exhausted, thought Dante.

"It was really nice to meet you Lulu but I think I am going to take my leave now and get some much needed rest."

"Dante has been working a murder case the last few days and hasn't gotten much sleep."

"You should go home and get some sleep then. I am home permanently now and I'm sure we'll run into each other again. Port Charles isn't that big."

Dante took his leave and started up the stairs to the exit before he felt himself looking back to catch one last glimpse of Lucky's sister before he went out the door. She had already turned around and started conversing with Lucky but she looked just as good from behind.

"I'm not sure what I'm going to do Lucky. I've really enjoyed my time in Europe but to be honest I was ready to come home. I had already decided at the beginning of this year that I was going to stay only one more year and tell Kate in November that I was leaving January 1st. It would have given her two months to find a replacement and then I was coming home to rest and recoup for six months or so. It was grueling getting the magazine running and then when it seemed it was taking off, the economy hit the crapper and it seems like I've been running up hill ever since." Lulu sighed, "eighteen hour days, seven days a week can really get to you after a while. I even started understanding why Kate is the way she is. The responsibility is overwhelming and the constant need to try to be on top and never quite making it is exhausting."

Lucky could see the look of defeat and exhaustion in Lulu's eyes. She seemed a little older and a bit jaded, even more so than before she left. Lulu had seen and done things no one should ever have to and had to handle most of them on her own. Their dad had never been the stay at home kind and their mom had been in and out of psychiatric hospitals most of Lulu's life.

"Don't let Tracy pressure you into anything. You should take some time off and think about what your next move will be."

"Well, that's just it, I don't have any time to relax. Kate has decided that she wants Maxie to run the layout portion of Crimson and me to run the editorial division. It seems Maxie works as many hours as I do and now that she and Matt are married and expecting a baby, she's been threatening to quit and Kate does not want to lose her. This is the perfect solution." Although Lulu said the words she was not so convinced. She had basically been running her own magazine for the last two years and coming back to Port Charles to share the running of a magazine with Maxie was going to be hard. Maxie had her own way of dealing with things and was hard headed when it came to someone else's input. Lulu had argued with Tracy about her running ELQ but honestly she was actually starting to get excited about the idea. She loved running the magazine on the business end but fashion had never been her strong suit like it was Maxie's. Sure she liked to dress nice and always tried to look her best but it really wasn't her bag to always be worried about being on the cutting edge of fashion. She was more comfortable in a holey pair of jeans and a graphic tee than a Givenchy gown. She knew she could pull off either look but sometimes she just wanted to be that t-shirt girl again.

"Tell Kate that you need at least a week off before you start at Crimson and that will give you some time to rest and think about what you really want to do."

Lulu thought for a minute and said, "You're right, that's exactly what I'm going to do and if Kate doesn't like it she can kiss my ass." Then Lulu asked Lucky if he could call her a cab. She was tired and wanted to go on back to the Q mansion. Monica had been kind enough to tell Tracy that Lulu was welcome back anytime and since Maxie had sublet their apartment six months ago after marrying Matt, Lulu had nowhere to go. She told Liz and Lucky goodbye and told her dad and Tracy that she would see them back at the house. As she climbed into the cab and gave the cabbie the Q address, she layed her head against the seat and closed her eyes and for the first time thought how glad she was to be home again.

When Dante's elevator door opened he all but fell out having fallen asleep leaning against the wall on the short trip up. He quickly shut the gate and entered his loft. Without even taking his shoes and sox off he laid on his bed intending on falling asleep immediately but couldn't. He kept thinking about Lulu Spencer. He had only been in Port Charles for a year. The first six months were undercover as the right hand man of Sonny Corinthos a Port Charles crime figure. It was after that he found out that his mother had been keeping a lifelong secret from him that Sonny Corinthos was his father and he quit the case due to a conflict of interest. NYPD didn't want him back and Mac Scorpoio, the PC Police Commander had asked him to come work with them in the homicide division. He had been working homicides now for six months and in Port Charles that was a long time considering they had at least a murder a week with the crime syndicates that were working through this city.

He had thought about girls during that time and even had a few but nothing long term and no one he actually thought about for more than five minutes after he left them. For some reason Lulu Spencer's face kept appearing everytime he closed his eyes. It wouldn't be a good idea to ask his partner's sister out. Those things could always get messy. He got up to get a beer since he couldn't sleep and sat down on the couch and turned the TV on. He had DVR'd the Yankee vs. Phillies game and decided to watch it since he was too wired now to go to sleep. As he watched and drank his beer his eyes started to close and he layed his head back against the couch and realized that he was starting to think of Port Charles as his home.


	2. Chapter 2

thanks for the reviews. I will not be able to update for a couple of days now. I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 2

It had been two weeks since Liz and Lucky's engagement party and a lot had happened in Lulu's life. She had quit one job and run headlong into another. "As of today, I am officially ELQ's president," Lulu said out loud. She hoped no one heard her. Theresa, her new secretary was just outside her office and she had a feeling Theresa knew everything that went on at ELQ. They had only met once but Theresa was definitely on top of everything and was going to be a huge asset to ELQ's new president. Tracy had spent hours with Lulu at the Q mansion going over ELQ's books and their many subsidiaries and all they did. Although Lulu was nervous and running ELQ was going to be a challenge, it was something Lulu felt confident she could do. Her first conference call with all of ELQ's subsidiary managers was scheduled for 2:00 and it was only 7:00 in the morning. She had spent most of last night preparing for it and now wondered what she was going to do with her morning.

She called Theresa in. "Theresa could you please let me know the procedure for letters?" Tracy had still used the old fashioned method of calling Theresa in and dictating.

"Ms. Spencer we can do it however you want."

"I would prefer a dictaphone and my own computer. I used a program called Dragonspeak at Crimson and dictated them to the computer and let my secretary put the finishing touches on them. Would you be alright with that?"

"That would be fine, if that's what you would like Ms. Spencer. Would you like me to go ahead and order the computer and program from the technology department?"

"Please, I'd like it right away. Tell them I would like it set up and complete by the day after tomorrow at the latest."

Theresa turned around to leave and said, "Yes ma'am."

"Oh, and Theresa please call me Lulu. Ms. Spencer seems so formal and I'm sure we're going to be putting in some long hours together and I'd rather not have to worry about formality." Theresa seemed surprised but continued out of the office without replying. Lulu knew Tracy would not be a fan of this suggestion but Lulu was use to a more informal office and Tracy needed to get with the times. The next thing she was going to initiate were dress down Fridays. It seemed this office was still of the opinion women couldn't even wear pants. Any woman she'd seen was in a skirt. Tracy had told Lulu she was in charge and she would be willing to back any decision Lulu made. This would be the true test.

Lulu sat down at her desk and picked up the phone to call Maxie. "Are you speaking to me yet?" she asked when Maxie picked up her direct line at Crimson.

"I'm still thinking about it. You know I could have really used you here. What am I going to do when I have this baby?"

"Kate can fill in for you. Her and Coleman have been on a long enough extended honeymoon."

Maxie made a half laugh and told Lulu they should do lunch.

"Sure, how bout Kelly's at Noon? I have a conference call at 2:00 but that should get me back in plenty of time. I want to talk about planning your baby shower anyway." Lulu was almost as excited as Maxie was about having this baby. It was going to be fun seeing Maxie out of her comfort zone once she was responsible for a little person.

"That sounds great, see you then," replied Maxie and set down the phone.

Lulu put the phone back on its cradle and decided to review the European numbers before she had to meet Maxie at Kelly's.

Dante had put in another all nighter and was still at his desk when Lucky came in to the office. His hair was ruffled from running his hands through it trying to concentrate on this new case. He knew he just couldn't see the trees for the forest and decided to ask Lucky to review the file to see if he could find something Dante was missing. This murder scene had been haunting him because it dealt with a family who lost their father to what seemed like a motiveless murder.

"Lucky, could you review the Reynolds file for me? There has got to be something I'm missing and I'm so beat I can't even concentrate on it any more."

"Sure, give me a second. Mac wanted to see me as soon as I came in. As soon as I'm done I'll take a look at it."

Dante dropped the file back down on his desk and leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. As soon as he could he was going to Kelly's to grab something to eat since he hadn't eaten since dinner last night and go home and get some z's.

By the time Mac had talked to Lucky and Lucky had a chance to review the file and go over it with him it was 11:30. Dante had hoped to have eaten and been in bed two hours ago. He grabbed his jacket and asked Lucky if he wanted to go to Kelly's with him.

"Sure, let me get my coat."

It was 12:15 and Lulu had been waiting for Maxie for a half an hour. Maxie was notoriously late so it was no surprise. The bell on the door rang and Lulu looked up half expecting it to be Maxie when she recognized her brother Lucky and his partner walking in. She hadn't really paid much attention to him the night she met him but she did remember his name was Dante. Now she wondered how she could have ignored the guy. He was gorgeous. A great body, obviously worked out, hair that just begged a girl to run her hands through it and deep chocolate brown eyes that you could get lost in and that was just from a distance.

"Hey sis. You alone?"

"For now, but I'm meeting Maxie for a quick bite and she's late as usual."

Dante stood just behind Lucky not wanting to interrupt but told Lucky he was going to sit at the bar and order.

"Why don't you and Lucky eat with Maxie and I? It's no telling when she's going to get here and I have to leave by 1:00 for a 2:00 conference call."

Dante looked at Lucky and shrugged his shoulders, "It's okay with me."

Lucky and Dante both pulled out a chair and sat down. Dante looked across the table at Lulu as she was looking at the menu and remembered how beautiful she was the night he met her at the Haunted Star. She sure didn't disappoint, she was just as beautiful if not more so in the light of day. Her hair shined like no other he'd ever seen and looked so soft he wanted to touch it to confirm it was so. He held himself in check and signaled to the waitress that he was ready to order. "I don't know if you guys are ready but I'm going to go ahead and order. I have a big bed calling to me after I get done eating."

Lulu looked up and furrowed her brow, "Bed this early?"

"He had another all nighter on the murder case he is still working on."

Lulu sympathized. She had been pulling a lot of those herself for the past week preparing to take over ELQ. "Well by all means order, I wouldn't want to keep you from your bed."

Dante wasn't sure but he heard a definite hint of flirting there and looked up into her eyes. There was definitely a devilish glint there and he knew that flirty hair flip she had just performed. He was no newcomer to this game. The waitress walked over and Dante ordered, "Bowl of chili and don't hold the heat."

Lulu laughed. "I like a man who can take a little heat."

Dante smiled back at her not holding back the charm and her heart almost stopped. Lulu though she had better watch out. This guy is a charmer and probably has a girl in every port. It wouldn't hurt to flirt, it had been a while since she had been interested in a guy. The men in Italy were gorgeous but she liked American men. There was a definite difference and Dante was the best of both worlds, Italian American.

Lulu, Lucky and Dante ordered and talked about their jobs. Lucky had told Dante about Lulu taking over ELQ and Dante seemed genuinely interested in how she was liking it.

Lulu told him, "I'll let you know after my 2:00 conference call."

Dante surprised himself and asked, "How'd you like to tell me about it at dinner tonight?"

Both Lulu and Lucky gave Dante a surprised look. But Lulu said, "Sure that would be great. What time and where should I meet you?"

Dante gave her the name and address of Sonny Corinthos' restaurant. It was the best in town and he wanted to make a good impression. Lulu wrote it down and agreed to meet him there at 8:00 tonight.

"You think that's enough time for you to get some rest?"

"I'll make it through. See you tonight." Dante went to the register to pay his bill and waved at Lucky and Lulu as he left the tip on the table.

Lucky looked at Lulu a little shocked. "You know he's Sonny's son right?"

"I think I remember you mentioning that. Is there a problem?"

"No, but he comes with a lot of baggage. It's hard enough being a cop and Luke Spencer's kid can you imagine being a cop and Sonny's kid?"

Lulu shook her head and stood up. "That's not a position I would envy but it's not like this is serious. It's a date not an engagement."

Lucky waved her off when she opened her purse to get her wallet. "I'll get this, you go prepare for your conference call. Good luck."

Lulu kissed him on his cheek and told him thanks for the lunch and ran out the door. Maxie walked up as she was leaving with a what the fuck look.

"You snooze you lose," joked Lulu. "I told you I had a conference call. I can't wait around for you all day." She patted Maxie's protruding tummy and told her they would have to have lunch another day.

"Why don't you come over to mine and Matt's apartment tonight for dinner?"

"Sorry, I've got a date."

Maxie looked perplexed as she watched Lulu walk around the corner. She turned to go into Kelly's and Lucky walked out. "Who has Lulu got a date with tonight?"

He responded as he was walking by, "Didn't she tell you? Dante Falconeri."

Maxie looked stunned. She hoped Lulu knew what she was getting into. She would have to make a note to call Lulu tomorrow and tell her what little she knew about Dante. She didn't think he was someone Lulu would want to get involved with considering Lulu's past with drama. Lulu had definitely simplified her life since she had left Port Charles and Maxie didn't see Lulu wanting to change that.


	3. Chapter 3

**For some reason I just can't stop writing. This is a long chapter but I tried to get all their background stuff in so we can go forward from here. Thanks for all your kind reviews. Keep them coming and let me know if you want me to keep writing.**

Chapter 3

Lulu was on cloud nine. The conference call had gone better than she had ever hoped for. There were 4 subsidiary managers and two ELQ vice presidents, one in Europe and one in Australia. Of the 6 people, 3 were women in their early 40s and the other 2 were men in their mid to late 40s and one was a gentleman that she would guess to be in his early 60s. They all seemed more than competent and could each answer questions about their divisions without hesitation. She liked it when co-workers knew their stuff. It was going to make her job so much easier knowing she had executives she could trust. Tracy didn't trust anyone and sometimes that was to her detriment. Lulu knew you had to be careful with people but she also knew that the more confidence you showed in someone the harder they usually worked for you and the more they wanted to please you.

"Theresa?"

"Yes Ms. Spenc..uh Lulu."

Lulu laughed to herself. Theresa had been doing that all day, correcting herself. "That's okay Theresa you'll catch on and before you know it my first name will roll right off your tongue with no hesitation."

Theresa laughed. "What was it you needed?"

"It's 7:30 and it's been a long day what do you say we lock up and head on out for the evening? She looked at Theresa's hand and noticed a wedding ring. "I haven't even asked you about your personal life. You're married." It was more a statement than a question. "Go home to your hubby and enjoy your evening. I have a dinner date. See you in the morning."

"What time would you like to start tomorrow?"

"I like to get into the office by 8:00 normally so let's make that our official start time unless something unusual happens."

"I'll see you at 8:00 then." Theresa turned and left Lulu's office while Lulu was turning off her desk lamp. Lulu turned to log off her computer before she remembered she still didn't have one. That was one piece of equipment she really needed. Email and dragonspeak were her most needed work tools. Well she shouldn't have to wait too much longer.

Dante was waiting for Lulu at a booth in the back of the restaurant. He had a great view of her walking through the door. She was still wearing the clothes she had on from lunch except she had taken off the jacket and just had her skirt and a sleeveless blouse on. Her shoes were killer with 5" heels that made her legs look like they never ended. That told him she wasn't like some of the girls he usually dated. They would have put on some short skirt cut up to their you know what and a top that didn't hide any of their assets. He didn't mind seeing some of the assets but he liked a little left to the imagination. Lulu looked perfect. Her skirt was short enough to be eyecatching but tasteful enough to wear to the office and the blouse hugged her breasts just enough to let you know she wasn't lacking. Contrary to popular opinion, he didn't like a woman with a big rack. Just a nice handful was good enough for him. As she walked to the table his eyes drifted upwards to her eyes. He could see she knew he had been checking her out and he glanced away a little embarrassed. He had to remember she is Lucky's sister.

Lulu noticed the heightened color in his cheeks. "It's okay. It's flattering for a guy to look at the goods once in awhile. Just remember I have a great mind too."

Dante laughed and stood up to pull out Lulu's chair.

"Thank you. You're quite the gentleman."

"I aim to please." As he pushed her chair in and turned to return to his seat his hand brushed the back of her neck and he noticed a slight shiver run down her back. He was glad he could have that effect on her. "So how did your conference call go?"

Her eyes lit up when he asked the question. "It went fantastic. I couldn't have asked for better. They seem like a great group of people and really hard workers. I'm sure they will be a huge asset to me and helping me get situated with ELQ." She seemed breathless at the end of the sentence and stopped to catch her breath.

"Are you nervous", he asked.

Shocked for a second, she asked, "Of our date or running ELQ?"

"Either."

She seemed to be a little miffed at his question. "It's not like it's my first date so I would say no to the first and although running ELQ is a little different than running a fashion magazine, I feel quite confident I can do the job. So no to both," she said rather shortly.

I didn't mean to piss you off, I'm just making conversation. I guess you're just excited and that came off to me as you might be a little nervous."

If the truth were to be told, Lulu was a little nervous about this date. It had been awhile and she hadn't felt this attracted to a man in a really long time. Well since John Zacarra. Even she had to admit that it had been a year since her last date and she couldn't even remember the last time she had sex. When she left Port Charles for Milan she had made a deal with herself that she was going to concentrate on her career and put men on the backburner.

"Sorry if I was short. A woman working in a man's world gets defensive when people start questioning their nerve."

" Sorry but there was really no need to get defensive." He made a mental note to never suggest she was nervous about something. "They have a great menu here. Probably not as good as when you were in Italy but I bet Capelli's runs a close second." He motioned for the waiter to come over and give them the specials. As they listened to the specials he snuck a look at her face to see if she was still upset but she seemed calm and even looked up at him and smiled.

"I think I want the fettucine alfredo. Is it good here?"

"The best. The lady will have the fettucine alfredo and I'll have the Pasta Parimante." He handed their menus to the waiter and told Lulu, "we'll share."

Lulu had no problem with that. They bantered back and forth while waiting for their meals until Lulu decided to bring up Sonny. "So Sonny is your dad. How does that go over with your fellow PCPD police officers?"

He looked a little uncomfortable and started running his hand through his hair which looked like a nervous reaction to the question. "Well I just found out Sonny's my dad. I haven't really had a lot of time to come to terms with it myself. The guys at the precinct seem to be cool with me and really haven't brought it up to me. I had to resign from the NYPD when they found out. I was undercover at the time and my mother, Olivia Falconeri, decided she had to tell me so I wouldn't bring down my father."

"That must have been a real shock."

"You're not kidding. It came out of left field. My mom had always told me she wasn't sure who my father was because she had been with so many guys. Believe me that is not something a young man wants to hear from his mother. We sons tend to put our moms on pedestals and my mom was on the highest there was."

"You and your mom seem like your close."

"Yea. It was touch and go there after she told me Sonny was my father but once I understood she had kept me from him so I could have a good life away from crime, we connected again. She had a tough life bringing me up as a single mother. We have a huge family and they all helped her but the biggest part of the burden fell on her shoulders but she never complained." Dante looked down at the table in order to hide the mist in his eyes. Talking about his mom and the sacrifices she made sometimes made him emotional.

Lulu noticed Dante's eyes grew misty and decided to change the subject. "What made you decide you wanted to be a cop?"

"In the Falconery family a boy either became a cop, a fireman or a priest. I picked cop. My best friend, Michael Poletti's father was a cop. Lt. Poletti let me tag along on all their camping trips, Yankee games and even let me be on the baseball team that he coached. I always wanted to be just like Lt. Poletti so I knew when I was really young that I wanted to be a cop."

Lulu realized that it must have been really hard for Dante to grown up without a dad. "My dad was never around much. Lucky must have told you about Luke."

"Some. He doesn't bring his dad up much because he has the same problem I do. Our dads are both criminals and we're cops. "We're always looked at a little differently by our brothers in blue so we tend to bring up our dad's as little as possible. He has told me about your mom though. It must be hard for a girl to grow up without her mom or her dad."

"I had my Grandma Leslie. I was a handful but she kept me in check. Then when my dad married Tracy I moved in with the Q's. I really hated Tracy to begin with. I felt like she had taken my dad away from my mom but as I got older I realized my dad hadn't really been with my mom for a long time. I started to develop a relationship with Tracy and she became my own Step-Monster."

Dante choked on his wine, covering his mouth so he wouldn't spit it out all over the table. "Is that a term of endearment?"

"Believe it or not it is. Tracy's and my relationship is different. We really do care about each other and would do anything for each other we just don't admit it to other people." Lulu laughed at the absurdity of the statement but it was true.

"She cared and respected you enough to hand over ELQ for you to run didn't she? That says a lot."

"She didn't have anyone else to give it to. None of her kids want it and Edward is basically retired. Dad and her would like to travel together more and so I was the only logical choice. "

They fell into an easy flowing conversation talking about their childhoods and told stories about growing up in Port Charles and Bensonhurst. Two hours and two bottles of wine were gone before they knew it.

Realizing it was getting late and she had to be to work early, Dante asked, "Did you drive here?"

Lulu grimaced, "No, I took a cab. I haven't bought a car yet. I sold mine before I moved to Milan."

"Oh, I'd offer to drive you but after consuming two bottles of wine I better not get behind the wheel of a car but I'll call you a cab."

Just at that time Max, one of Sonny's bodyguards, walked up to their table. "Mr. C. says that you can have the use of his limo tonight if you'd like. "

Dante had always made sure that he never accepted anything from Sonny. But he knew it was common practice for Capelli's to offer the limo to customers who had imbibed too much. That way they kept the wine and the cash flowing without worrying about how they were going to get home. "That would be great Max. Lulu, is it okay if I see you home?"

"Sure that would be fine. " She looked up at Max and thanked him and asked how Milo was doing.

"Milo still has a crush on you. He's always asking Luke how you are whenever he sees him. I bet he has every photo that's been taken of you at any event you attended in Milan."

Lulu glanced over at Dante to see his reaction to this comment. He had a lopsided grin that translated to not being sure how to take this latest comment.

Dante wanted to stop this conversation and told Max, "We'll be out in about five minutes." Max turned and left to pull the limo around.

Dante decided to wade right in, "How do you know Milo?"

"Port Charles is a small town and Sonny and my dad are best friends. Milo started crushing on me the day I turned 18. It was never mutual but I always found him to be kinda sweet."

Dante wasn't sure how to take that but decided it really wasn't too much to worry about. He stood up and walked around the table and pulled Lulu's chair out to allow her to stand. As she stood, she lost her balance a little, probably from the wine, and Dante grabbed her waist from behind to steady her. It was as if someone had shocked him with a stun gun and from Lulu's reaction she felt it too.

She pulled away from him and uttered a quick apology that she must have drank too much.

"No problem, I think we both did." He led her out to the front of the restaurant with a hand on her back to guide her and motioned for Max to stay at the wheel. He opened the door and took her hand to help her inside, and there were the electric charges again going all the way up his arm. He climbed in and sat across from her. He decided it might be best if they weren't next to each other on the ride home. He couldn't trust himself. It was all he could do not to pull her over to him and sit her on his lap. Her lips were so full and pouty and he could only imagine what it would be like to kiss them. He felt himself get hard just thinking about it.

Max rolled down the window and asked where they were going first.

"Q's mansion Max. I'm staying there till I find a place of my own."

"Sure thing Lulu."

"There's a loft open in my building if you're interested."

"A loft?" That sounded intriguing. She had always loved the thought of living in a loft. In Milan she had a great Italian Villa on the outskirts of Milan that Kate had provided. She had to endure various visitors over the two years she was there, clients Kate let use the place but other than that it was incredible. She really had longed for a place of her own and now was her opportunity. "Do you think you could give me the landlord's number and I could take a look at it?"

Dante pulled out his cell and pulled up his landlord's number on his contact list and read it off to her. She keyed in the number into her cell and made a mental note to call it first think in the morning. They settled into a comfortable silence for the rest of the ride each lost in their own thoughts.

One they arrived at the Q's manion, Dante told Max to stay put and opened the door and helped Lulu out of the back of the limo.

"You don't have to walk me to the door."

"Of course I do, I'm a gentleman remember."

Lulu let out a little giggle, another product of too much wine and let him take her arm as they walked up the sidewalk. When they reached the door Dante took her by the waist and turned her toward him. She wasn't sure but she thought he was going to kiss her. Before she knew what happened, Dante had bent his head down and pressed his lips to hers. His lips moved on hers but it was nothing invasive but just that small gesture had butterflies flying in her tummy. He pulled away and it was obvious he was as affected by the kiss as she was.

He whispered, "I had a great time tonight. I would really like to see you again."

"I'd like that."

"I'll call you tomorrow. Good night." He leaned down again to give her another quick peck and was gone before it even registered. Lulu stood at the door and raised the back of her hand to her mouth trying to recreate the pressure of his lips there. She turned to open the door as the limo drove away and she wondered what she had gotten herself into.

As the limo drove away, Dante watched out the window as she walked in the front door of the Q's house. He signed heavily and laid his head against the back seat, closed his eyes and wondered what he had gotten himself into.


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you all for the kind reviews. This chapter is kind of short but I am hoping to post Chapter 5 tonight too and it may get a little steamy. I want to take things a little slow for them so be patient.

Chapter 4

Lulu could hear their voices before she even got to the bottom of the stairs. It was barely 7:00 in the morning and they were already at each others throats.

"I don't know why you have to make my cardiologist appointment at the crack of dawn."

I don't think 9:00 is the break of dawn, Luke" , Tracy said acidly.

"How can you two be at it already? The day has barely begun", Lulu said as she walked into the Q's study. She went over to the buffet table to grab a cup of coffee and a sweet roll. That's one thing she could say for the Q's, Chef put out quite a breakfast spread. She was going to miss this when she finally found a place of her own. But this would probably be the only thing she missed.

"Lulu, tell your father he only has to see the cardiologist once a year for a checkup and it isn't going to kill him to get up early one day a year."

"Good morning cupcake", Luke greeted Lulu sweetly while glaring at Tracy. "I don't need Lulu telling me what you just said, you certainly said it loud enough for me to hear."

Lulu knew behind all this bickering that they really did care for each other. "This is just a checkup? Nothing serious right?"

"No pretty girl, just a checkup." Luke patted her head comfortingly as if she were a little girl again.

Lulu smiled a small smile remembering how small gestures like that from her father meant so much to her when she was little. Since he wasn't home a lot the little things really impressed her as a young girl.

"You got home rather late last night, who brought you home? I thought I saw a limo", questioned Tracy.

"Now Tracy she is a grown woman she can come and go as she pleases without the third degree."

Lulu figured she might as well get it out in the open. They would find out sooner or later anyway. Port Charles was a good sized city but gossip made the rounds pretty quickly here. It was hard to keep anything quiet. "I had a date last night with a guy named Dante Falconeri." She knew the minute Tracy took a loud intake of breath and gave Luke a death stare that they knew he was Sonny's son. Hell, how did she think they wouldn't know that?

Luke simply said, "I hope you know what you're getting into darlin."

"That's all you're going to say? You are her father, tell her she is not allowed to ever see that man again."

When Luke started to reply, Lulu took a final sip of her coffee. "I have got to get to the office you two, hate to eat and run. See you tonight." She heard them still bickering as she closed the front door.

Just as promised, there was a dark blue Audi 6000 sitting in the middle of the driveway with the keys in it. She had made arrangements with a rental company to deliver it this morning some time before 7:00. Until she had time to buy a new car she wanted to be able to get around without having to call a cab all of the time. Edward had offered a car from the Q's fleet but Lulu felt she was already using them enough by staying at the house. She threw her briefcase into the passenger side and climbed behind the wheel. While driving to the office, her thoughts went to all she needed to do today. She wanted to get the ELQ figures for their North American division and call the number Dante had given her for his landlord to make an appointment to see the vacant loft. Her thoughts drifted to Dante and their date last night. She had really enjoyed herself and wondered if he meant it when he said he wanted to see her again. It was the first time in a long time that she really hoped a guy would call her for a second date. She was usually pretty bored with the first one and wasn't interested in a second.

Dante got to the Precinct early and was yawning when he sat down at his desk. He had trouble getting to sleep last night, probably a combination of nursing a hard on from the kiss with Lulu and the long nap he had taken yesterday after lunch. He started thinking about the Reynolds case and his and Lucky's review of the file and he got one of those lightbulb moments. He hadn't even considered the victim's brother. Dante had found out in interviews that the brother had borrowed a significant amount of money from his brother about a year ago. The wife had indicated that neither she nor her husband had asked for the money to be paid back and it was a non-issue and Dante had thought little about it since. In Lucky's review of the file, he had made mention of the fact that the brother had been seen at the house by neighbors during the day, so often in fact they thought it was no big deal. What if the wife and the victim's brother were having an affair? That was Dante's first item of business today, call the brother and wife and bring them in for follow-up interviews.

Dante looked up to see Lucky carrying two Kelly's coffees. "Is one of those for me?"

"You got it brother and you look like you could use it. Didn't you get to sleep last night?" Lucky handed Dante his cup of coffee.

"Not much, I was thinking about this Reynolds case." Dante took a sip of the coffee and decided not to mention anything about Lucky's sister contributing to his insomnia.

"Yea? Any more leads?"

"I am going to call the wife and brother in for a follow-up interview this afternoon. I thought about what you said and I think that was the piece of the puzzle I wasn't connecting." Dante reached for the phone.

Lucky looked at the pile of files on his desk, took a sip of his coffee and sighed, "Hope that pans out for ya. I better get to work on a few of my own open cases."

Lulu picked up her cell phone knowing it was Maxie from the caller i.d. "Hey."

"Lulu I'm not going to be able to make lunch today because the shit has hit the fan here. The printer's press broke down and the part they need can't be shipped for two days. That will put us a week over deadline and I am freaking out. I will be spending my afternoon calling other printers to see if they can at least do a first edition for the big cities like New York and L. A. until the part gets to our regular printer. I really did want to have lunch with you to talk about Dante Falconeri."

Lulu knew it. When she had come into the office this morning she had a voicemail from Maxie telling her she really had to talk to her about 'someone' and asking if they could do lunch in the Crimson conference room so they would have more privacy. "I had a feeling you wanted to talk about my date last night."

"Lulu, you do realize he is Sonny's son right? Trouble follows Sonny and it sure as hell follows his kids. Just look at Michael. It's a miracle that he and Kristina have some sort of normal life now that they have both gone away to college. Now let's just hope Morgan doesn't get messed up."

"I'm a big girl Maxie and besides Dante didn't grow up with Sonny and he's a cop."

"I don't have time to talk to you about this now. Hopefully I can fix this nightmare today and maybe we can do lunch or dinner tomorrow.

Lulu heard someone talking to Maxie in the background.

"The printer from Chicago is calling so I'll talk to you later" said Maxie quickly and slammed down the phone.

Lulu pushed the end button on her cell phone and laid it back on her desk. She was sorry for Maxie's predicament but she was glad that now she didn't have to cancel their lunch. Lulu planned on working through lunch because she had made an appointment with Dante's landlord to meet him this afternoon at 4:30 and take a look at the loft. She had also planned on calling a rental agency to maybe schedule some other appointments but work had gotten in the way. Just as she was turning towards her newly installed computer, her cell phone rang again. It didn't identify the caller but it was a Port Charles number and she answered anyway. "Lulu Spencer."

"Hi beautiful."

Lulu recognized Dante's voice right away. Two could play at this game. "Hi handsome."

Dante laughed. "You noticed huh?"

"It would be hard not to."

Dante liked a girl who could give as good as she could take. "I meant what I said last night."

Lulu hoped she knew what that meant. "What was that?"

"I would like to see you again. How would you like to maybe go see a movie tonight and dinner after?"

Lulu hated to say no. "I'm sorry but I have an appointment to see the loft in your building at 4:30 this afternoon and I don't know how long that will take."

"Well actually that would be perfect, you could come to my place after and we could order in and rent a movie."

Lulu grimaced. Tonight was the premier of the new Survivor, her secret addiction, and she had planned to go back to the Q's have Chef pop a big pan of popcorn and she would watch the premier in bed. But she thought, Survivor or Dante Falconeri, and the latter won. "That sounds good. Give me your floor and loft number and I'll drop in after my tour."

Dante gave her his address and saw the desk sargeant coming over to him. "Lulu I've gotta go I have two interviews scheduled this afternoon and I think they're here. I'll see you tonight and think about what movie you'd like to watch."

Lulu pressed end again but before she set her phone down she put Dante's name and phone number in her contact list. She hadn't even asked him how he had gotten her number but that was probably not hard to figure out. Lucky had probably given it to him.

She turned once again toward her new computer and huffed, "Now I've got to get some work done before I leave today." But in the back of her head she kept thinking about seeing Dante later and concentration on her work did not come easy.


	5. Chapter 5

Here is my first try at a makeout scene. Just a little tease as to what is to come. Like I said I am taking it slow with them. Please review and let me know if you like it or not.

Chapter 5

Dante was setting his DVR to record Survivor. He never missed an episode and tonight was the premier of the new season. He wasn't sure what time Lulu was going to arrive and he didn't want to take a chance on not recording it. Just as he hit "okay" on the remote, he heard a knock at his door. "I'll be right there", he yelled. He gave one more look around the loft to make sure he had hidden all his dirty clothes and crap he had laying everywhere and once he was sure the place looked presentable he opened the door.

He was breathless for a second. There Lulu stood in the hallway with a pair of navy pants that made her legs look like they were five feet long, a white diaphanous blouse that allowed you to see just a touch of a lacy white bra underneath and a navy and white hounds tooth jacket that buttoned snugly just under her breasts. Her hair was pulled back and off her neck , not in a bun but some kind of braid that made her look truly elegant. "Wow", Dante said while shaking his head making sure he was awake. "Either I'm underdressed or you're overdressed. You did understand that we're just gonna order in some takeout and watch a movie on my couch, right?" Dante looked down at his navy t-shirt and jeans while waiting for her response.

"I know. I was running late so I ran by the Q's and put some clothes in a bag." She held the bag up as if to show him the evidence. "I thought maybe I could change here if you don't mind?"

"Sure, the bathroom's through that hall and the first door on the right." He held the door open wider so she could walk past him and shut it as she entered his living room area. He noticed her checking the place out. "It's not all that much but it's home."

Lulu nodded while taking the loft in. When you entered the door it took you right into the living area with a small kitchen to the right. The kitchen countertops were stainless steel as were his appliances. He had some kind of buffet or dresser separating the living room from his bedroom area. It was spacious but still comfortable. Lofts could sometimes seem cold because of the height of the ceilings. "This is basically the same layout as the loft I just looked at but you have a fireplace which is a nice touch."

Dante looked surprised, "I thought they all had fireplaces." This had been the only loft he had looked at in the building and he really hadn't made friends with any of his neighbors so he hadn't been inside any others since he moved in either. "Did you like it, are you going to be my neighbor?"

"It's the first thing I've seen so I asked your landlord if he would give me a week or so to make a decision." She put her purse on the back of the couch and lifted the bag with her clothes in it again in his direction, "Kay if I go change now?"

"Yea go ahead. I'll order while you change. What are you up for? Chinese, pizza, burgers…you name it I've got a number for it."

Lulu thought for a second and said, "Chinese."

"Chinese it is. What's your favorite?"

"Moo Goo Gai Pan and a shrimp egg roll."

"You got it." Dante crossed the room to the phone while Lulu walked towards the hall to get to the bathroom.

Lulu could hear Dante placing their order while she was changing. She was glad she had a chance to pull herself together. He was really hot in his tight fitting t-shirt that showed off all his muscles that he obviously worked for at some local gym. His jeans fit him like a glove leaving little to the imagination and when he turned around she definitely noticed he had a nice butt, round and tight. It really wasn't common for a guy to have a great butt. More often than not a guy's butt was flat and left a jean baggy in the back. She needed a moment to catch her breath and calm her heart rate down. She jerked when Dante knocked on the bathroom door.

"Do you need anything in there? Food will be here in 20 minutes."

"No, I'm good. I'll be out in a couple of minutes."

"I'll get you something to drink. Wine? Beer?"

"A beer would be great." She'd have to remember she had to drive home so she couldn't drink more than two beers tonight.

She pulled on her jeans and zipped and snapped them and then slipped a D&G turquoise t-shirt over her head. The color brought out the color of her eyes and it's stitched seams along her sides and along the neckline flattered her shape making her waist look small and her boobs just a little more perky with just enough cleavage showing. She pulled the pins out of her hair and let the braid loose and ran her hands through it letting her hair flow just past her shoulders with nice waves running through it from where it had been braided. Quickly she got one of the disposable tooth brushes she kept in her purse and did a cursory brush. Once she looked in the mirror and felt she was ready, she folded her work clothes and put them into the bag and opened the bathroom door.

As she walked into the living room, Dante was looking at the list of on demand movies on the TV. "I hope you don't mind but I forgot to bring shoes and I really don't want to put my pumps from work on so I'm going to go barefoot."

Dante turned around and as he heard her and he said, "Wow." The barefoot question flew right out of his head. "You made me speechless twice in a night. You look gorgeous." He noticed her beautiful blonde hair was down around her shoulders and had a soft wave in it. He also wondered how it would feel if he combed his fingers through it. The t-shirt and jeans showed off her curves to perfection and he wondered how he was going to keep his hands off of her. Just looking at her from across the room made him hard. What was it going to be like sitting beside her all night?

Lulu smiled and she could feel the color rise in her cheeks. Compliments were nice but sometimes they embarrassed her. "Thanks" she said and then changed the subject. "What movies are on demand? Anything look good?"

"There are a few. Depends on what you're in the mood for. Action, adventure, chick flick, comedy, dramedy…"

"I'm pretty easy to please when it comes to movies I pretty much like them all."

Dante picked up the remote again and pushed the wrong button and his recording scheduled popped up on the screen. Lulu saw that he had scheduled to record Survivor. "You like Survivor?"

"Yea, I usually watch it but I set it to record tonight."

"I love Survivor. I never miss a season and I hear this one is going to be the best ever."

Dante looked surprised for a second. "I didn't peg you for a Survivor kind of girl. Maybe Desperate Housewives or Medium but not Survivor."

"Bite your tongue and never say that to me again. I have always wanted to try out for Survivor but my work schedule would never allow it."

"Really? I tried out for the third season when they came to a mall in the city for try outs. I even got a second call back but I didn't make it. It would have been freaking killer if I had."

Lulu looked him up and down, "I'm impressed."

Dante looked serious, "That's nothing, I once was an extra on Law and Order SVU now that is impressive."

Lulu wasn't sure how to react until Dante grinned and showed her that gorgeous smile of his and that he was poking fun at himself.

"Well I guess we don't have to go to the trouble of picking a movie. Survivor it is". It was just 7:00 and Survivor didn't come on until 8:00 so that would give them time to eat and talk a little before the show started.

Lulu moved over to the couch and sat down next to Dante and motioned to the beer open on the table. "Is that mine?"

There was a knock at the door just as Dante nodded his head. He got up opened the door to the delivery man. They exchanged money and food and Dante set the bag with the Chinese food containers on the kitchen counter. "I thought we'd eat at the dining room table since the show doesn't start for an hour."

Lulu smelled the Chinese food as she walked over to the kitchen and her mouth began to water. "I skipped lunch today since I had to leave early to meet your landlord and I haven't eaten since this morning. I'm starving."

They got dishes out and helped their plates and took their seats at Dante's dining room table. Dante asked how her day was and she asked how his interviews went. As they were eating he told her about the case he was working on and about the victim's wife and brother he had brought in to interview this afternoon. "I am beginning to think the brother did it. I'm sure the wife was on the verge of confessing and then her brother-in-law barged into the interrogation room and told her that he had gotten in touch with an attorney and he said they shouldn't talk to us anymore unless the attorney was present. At that point I had to stop the interrogation. Sometimes my job can be really frustrating."

"Sure it can but it can be really rewarding too", Lulu countered.

"Yes it can." Dante looked at his watch and said they better clean up or they were going to miss Survivor. They cleaned the kitchen and moved over to sit on the couch. Before he sat down, Dante asked Lulu if she wanted another beer.

"No, I've had two and that's my limit. Remember I have to drive home."

Dante shook his head remembering she had told him at dinner that she had a rental car parked downstairs and she would have to drive home. "How about a soda?"

"Whatever kind you have will be fine."

Dante went to the fridge and pulled out another beer for him and a Coke for Lulu and walked back over to the couch and sat down next to her. He pulled the tab on the Coke and handed it to her and then opened his beer and took a long sip before he threw the lid on the table and sat the beer down.

Lulu picked up the remote and turned the TV on. "What channel is it on here?" Dante told her and she pushed in the number. They both leaned back on the couch waiting for the commercials to end and the show to start. Their shoulders were almost touching. Once the show began they both became immersed but each was aware of the other and their close proximity. Dante stretched his arm along the back of the couch just behind Lulu's head. She leaned her head against the back of the couch and it just seemed natural for him to drop his hand to her shoulder. She leaned into him more and laid her head against his shoulder.

Lulu thought how good it felt for his arm to be around her. She felt safe and secure and even comfortable.

While they were watching the show, he realized at one point that she hadn't said anything in a while and didn't seem to be paying attention. When he looked down a smile broke out on his face because he realized she had fallen asleep leaning against him in the crook of his shoulder. She was so beautiful and looked so peaceful lying there. Before he could even stop and think he had leaned over to touch his lips to hers in a brief kiss. He knew immediately that she had awakened when her lips started moving against his and opened slightly inviting him in. Dante groaned and the kiss deepened quickly, their tongues sparring and exploring. Dante used his arms to encourage her to move her body towards him more until she was half leaning against his chest with his back to the couch. Their hands began exploring each others bodies. Dante's hands spanned Lulu's waste just below her breasts, kneading and pulling her closer to him at the same time. Lulu's hands were moving up his arms, massaging as they went until they reached his neck and she began combing her hands through his hair at his nape and using pressure on the back of his head to push his mouth even closer to hers.

Dante's hands moved down to her waste feeling for the hem of her t-shirt and moving his hand underneath and upwards to her breasts massaging her body as his hand moved up to its intended goal.

Lulu's fingers moved from his hair to the front of his shirt and began unbuttoning it. She pushed his shirt to the side and began stroking his pecs, feeling the muscles contract as she moved her hands over them and then she let her hand glide lower to his abdomen. Dante gave a quick intake of breath and pulled his mouth away from hers and said, "Unless you want this to go a lot further than a makeout session, keep your hands above the midsection."

Startled, Lulu pulled away further and apologized, "Sorry, I guess I got carried away."

As Dante moved forward to close the distance to her mouth once again, he whispered, "Carried away is a good thing unless you're not willing to follow through." Their mouths came together again and continued their exploration as Dante thought he had the sneaking suspicion that Lulu was not ready to follow through. Her body might be but her head wasn't there yet and truthfully he didn't know if he was ready yet either. He knew that this girl was different and his feelings for her were different than any girl he had ever been with and this was before they had even had sex. What was it going to be like after?

Dante's hand covered Lulu's breast and he felt the lacy bra he had seen peeking through her blouse earlier. He began kneading it and grazing his thumb over her nipple and feeling it harden underneath his touch. He pushed her down towards his lap and pulled his legs up on the couch and stretched them out along the length of the couch and intertwined his legs with Lulu's. His knee raised up to push against her crotch and Lulu could feel how hard he was against her thigh and let out a groan of her own while she raised her pelvis to press her crotch harder against his knee. He took his free hand and stroked her hair and found it as soft as it looked. As a matter of fact that small gesture just about sent him over the edge. It wasn't like he was some inexperienced teenager but with Lulu he was feeling out of control.

They continued kissing and exploring for a few more minutes until Lulu pushed away from him and sat up on the couch. Dante looked up at her holding her head in her hands. He stroked her lower back with his hand. "Are you okay? Did I do something wrong?"

Lulu shivered from his touch feeling it straight to her center. "No, no, I just don't know if I'm ready for this" and she motioned between him and her with her hand. "Dante I'm not a promiscuous person. I don't have sex with just anyone." She was quick to add, "not that you're just anyone."

"I'm glad to hear it" Dante grimaced.

"And I certainly don't normally have sex with someone I've only gone out with twice. So I think I'll go home now before we go too far."

Dante knew it would have been easy to change her mind but he didn't want to pressure her. He knew Lulu wanted him as bad as he wanted her. It was obvious by the look in her eyes a deep wish or need to take it to the next level. Dante sat up and moved his legs to the side of the couch and stood up. "Okay, I'll take you down to your car."

"There's no need. I can make it on my own."

Dante didn't respond, he just picked up her bag with her clothes and moved towards the elevator and pushed the call button. Lulu put her pumps on and picked up her purse. As the elevator opened, Dante pushed back the cage door. "I didn't even notice the elevator" she said. Dante held the door open as she walked by him and once she was inside he stepped in and shut the cage door and pushed the button for the ground floor.

"You're awful quiet" Lulu said nervously. "Are you upset with me?"

Dante, looked at her sheepishly, "No, I'm not upset. Things just got a little heated up there and I'm trying to come down a little. Literally."

Lulu looked down at the floor wishing that they would get to the ground floor quickly. She had more than embarrassed herself letting things go too far and she was anxious to be on her way home. As the elevator door opened, Dante pushed the cage door open and held it while she got out. Silently he followed her to her car and he watched as she used the key fob to unlock the doors. Dante opened the driver's door for her and leaned in to put her bag in the passenger seat. As he turned around she was standing between the open door and the car waiting for him to move so she could get in. Dante didn't move and she looked up at his face and into his eyes. She could see the burning desire in their depths and knew he saw the same in hers. He pushed the door open more and moved so that she could get in. He knew she was making an effort to not touch him. Just as she was putting her leg in the car to sit down, he said her name, "Lulu."

Lulu turned and he lowered his head and kissed her. Her reaction was immediate and she once again opened her mouth to him but he quickly pulled away. "Good night," he said. Shaking with her need she turned to get into the car and once she sat down, he closed her door and walked back to the entrance to his building. Lulu put both hands on the wheel trying to steady herself before starting the car. She watched him open the building's door and start to go inside. Just before he went in he turned around and looked at her almost questioningly and then went on inside.

She laid her head against the steering wheel still trying to catch her breath. She didn't know what this was leading to but she guessed only time will tell.


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you for all your wonderful Reviews. Glad you are enjoying it. Please keep reviewing and giving me your feedback.

Chapter 6

It had only been a week since Lulu started her job as President of ELQ and they were at odds already. Tracy had decided to drop into the office midweek and noticed a few of the changes Lulu had instituted at ELQ. She had been riding Lulu's ass ever since and today was no exception. Breakfast this morning had been pure hell with Tracy telling Lulu why she shouldn't have made the changes and why they wouldn't work. Thanks to her dad, Lulu was able to duck out while he distracted Tracy asking her if she would be okay with him investing some of her money in a new startup company. Lulu would have never thought that instituting dress down Fridays, telling her secretary that she could call her by her first name and instituting an optional 9/80 work week would create such a fuss. Lulu still maintained that dress down Fridays built morale and allowed people to get some down and dirty work done which you normally would not do in your work attire. But the last and the biggest bone of contention with Tracy was the 9/80 work week. This allowed employees to work a 9 hour day for 9 days and take the tenth day off which could be either a Friday or a Monday every other week giving people a 3 day weekend every other week. It was well known from work studies that adding an hour a day to a person's work week allowed people to be more productive since they were already settled into their day and it was also a morale booster. There was nothing Tracy could do about it because she had basically given Lulu carte blanche when it came to personnel and production issues. Only when it came to the finances did Lulu have to consult Tracy and the ELQ board which consisted of Tracy, Edward, Ned and Sonny Corinthos. Little did Tracy know that Lulu had already been putting a proposal together to present at her first board meeting requesting a significant investment of ELQ cash reserves to add to the production facilities at their Australian plant. She was planning a business trip there the beginning of August to finalize the plans.

Her direct line rang while she was dictating a letter on DragonSpeak. She noted from the caller i.d. that it was Dante. A smile crept across her face for the first time today. They had seen each other every day since their Survivor night. If not for dinner then for lunch and one day for a quick walk in the park because both were really slammed at work that day. Lulu had made sure that they had never gotten carried away like they did that night except for last night when he had taken her home after dinner. He had picked her up at the Q's telling her he wanted to take her out on a real date where he opened the car door for her and walked her to her door. He had walked her to her door alright and when he started to kiss her good night it felt like something exploded in them. She had known he was going to kiss her good night but his lips had lingered on hers and he put his arm around her and began caressing her lower back and coercing her body closer to his with his hand. As Lulu's breasts leaned into his chest and their hips were pressed one to the others, Dante touched his tongue to Lulu's bottom lip and coerced it open and her mouth opened to his and their tongues encouraged the other to explore each others mouths. That hand at the small of her back, rubbing and then moving down to caress her bottom was her undoing. She felt a dampness between her legs that had not been there a few seconds before and her arms went around his neck to pull him closer to her to try to deepen the kiss even further. The next step would have been for their hands to wander to places that they shouldn't under a bright porch chandelier. It was Dante who finally pushed away from Lulu remembering where they were.

"Whoa, I don't think this is the place to start this," Dante had said a little out of breath.

"I think I better go in and you better go home," Lulu replied. Dante seemed disappointed but leaned down to give her a more chaste kiss and said good night. Lulu had watched him walk down the walk towards his car when she saw him turn around and he had said, "You can't keep me at arms length forever you know."

As Lulu was remembering last night she said, "Hello", as she picked up the phone.

"Hey, it's Dante."

"Hey," Lulu sighed into the phone.

"Is Tracy still driving you crazy or has she decided to accept your changes now?"

"That'll be the day. She started in on me first thing this morning. Thank God my dad rescued me so I could slip out of there."

"Are you starting to regret going to work for ELQ Enterprises?"

"No, I really do like it and I think I'm going to be good at it. Tracy will come around she just has to realize that she is not in charge anymore. I think ultimately that's what the problem is, seeing me implementing changes no matter how small makes her feel as if she has lost control and Tracy does not like to feel out of control," muttered Lulu, "Even if this was her choice."

Offhandedly Dante asked, "Did you call the rental company this morning to make an appointment to see some other places? I thought maybe I would go see them with you. You know give you a man's opinion if all of the mechanicals are in good working order."

"You're funny," Lulu laughed. "No I didn't. As a matter of fact I was going to call your landlord this morning and tell him I've decided to take the loft in your building. I just want to move out of the Quartermaine mansion as soon as possible." Lulu held her breath to see what Dante's reaction would be.

"Great. We'll be neighbors and I'll get to see even more of you, I hope. You'll have to tell me when you decide move in day is and I can get a bunch of guys from the department to help you move in."

"I have a few things that Maxie put in storage when she married Matt and subleased our apartment but other than that I got rid of almost everything when I moved to Milan. I'm going to have to go shopping!"

Dante quickly responded, "Oh, I can't help you there, I'm not much of a shopper. As a matter of fact it is my least favorite thing to do. Maybe Maxie can help you do that or you can ask Tracy."

"Thanks for your suggestion, but you don't have to worry I can handle the shopping."

Dante changed the subject, "The reason I called was I wanted to see if you wanted to go to Jake's with me tonight." Dante figured Jake's probably wasn't her kind of scene but several of the guys from the department had been trying to get him to go and they were taking their girlfriends. "I know it's probably not your kind of scene but some buddies of mine are going with their girlfriends for some beers and pool and asked if I'd like to go and bring a friend."

"So I'm the friend huh?" Lulu asked.

Dante replied rather cryptically, "Well we haven't exactly defined what we are so…"

"I love Jake's, I use to hang out there a lot when I lived in Port Charles and was working for Crimson. I use to shoot a mean game of pool. I'd love to see if I've still got it in me."

"Was that when you were dating Johnny Zacarra?, Dante asked no longer sounding lighthearted.

"Part of it. How did you know I dated Johnny." Lulu knew she had never mentioned dating Johnny or even mentioned Johnny's name to Dante. She tended to try and forget that portion of her life.

"I'm a cop Lulu, I know a lot of things about a lot of people. I was undercover for the Zacarra's for a year and a half and I knew everything about their organization and their personal lives. It was my job and if I do say so myself I did my job well."

Lulu heard the defensiveness creep into Dante's voice and she knew this was the beginning of a whole other subject. "I would never question your ability as a cop Dante. Lucky says you are the best out there and I trust my brother to know what he's talking about especially when it comes to his partner. I just never thought about you knowing about Johnny and I." Resignedly she said, " I'd rather not talk about it over the phone," realizing it was a subject that they were going to have to talk about whether it be sooner or later.

"We'll save it for a later time. How bout I pick you up at 7:00?"

"See you then," answered Lulu.

Dante said bye and that he would see her later and then he hung up the phone. Staring at the receiver he had just released into its cradle, Dante thought that Johnny was definitely going to be a subject they talked about tonight. If Lulu was harboring any leftover feelings for Johnny or anyone else he wanted to know now before he became too invested. He wasn't use to competition, he usually knew he was what the girl wanted but he was not as confident as he usually was when it came to Lulu and this time he was beginning to think it really mattered.


	7. Chapter 7

This one is a little long but I didn't see where I could stop anywhere in the middle. Here is my first try at a love scene. Also please note that I have rewritten Lulu and Johnny's history together.

Chapter 7

He had run by his loft to change his shirt and drop off his gun and holster. A lot of guys took their guns everywhere but Dante didn't like to unless he was on the job. Sometimes perps saw a gun as a challenge and if you didn't have one there was no problem. He was a little worried about tonight. For sure he was going to bring up the Johnny Zacarra subject. He wanted to clear that up and find out if Lulu had any lingering feelings for him. Zacarra was scum and he really didn't understand how someone like Lulu had gotten involved with him. He felt that tonight was going to be the deciding factor in their relationship and where it went from here. He wasn't sure where he wanted it to go exactly but he knew he was ready to start exploring that with Lulu. Dante looked at his watch as he got in the car. 6:40, that would give him just enough time to pick up Lulu by 7:00 p.m.

Lulu had just been home a few minutes when Dante came to pick her up. This was planned. Lulu knew she was going to have to face Tracy sooner or later and they were going to have a serious conversation about who was now in charge at ELQ but Lulu was not ready for that yet. She didn't even run into Tracy during her brief stay at the house just to run in and change into a bright purple jersey dress with spaghetti straps that clung to every curve and rouched at her waist to make her waist look even smaller, It had a hem that fell three inches above her knee. It was perfect for Jake's, not trashy but not so classy either. She wanted to have fun tonight and cut loose a little. She was tired of being so buttoned up lately and she wanted Dante to know she could have a good time. The dress was the first example of that.

"Wowza," said Dante when Lulu opened the door. Dante gulped, and said, "That's some dress. Maybe I don't want to take you to Jake's after all. I think I want to keep you to myself in that little number."

Lulu blushed a little, happy she had gotten the reaction she was going for. "Get in the car Falconeri, I didn't get all dressed up for nothing." Dante put his hand on her back walking her down the walk to his waiting car. He handed Lulu in and felt a tightening in his pants when her dress rode good four more inches up her thigh when she sat down showing him more of those beautiful long legs than he'd ever seen before.

As Dante got in and started the car he revved the engine a little and drove forward out of the circular driveway. "You know I wanted to clear the air before we get to Jake's."

"You mean about Johnny?" Lulu said resignedly. She knew this was coming but had hoped they could talk about Johnny after she had a couple of beers.

Lulu sighed, "Okay." She paused to take a breath, "Johnny and I met at the Haunted Star one night about 2 ½ years ago. I didn't know who his family was and we hit it off and started seeing each other. Shortly after we met I learned about his mob background and what a monster his father was. He was trying to get out of the mob or that's what he told me. I think I just wanted to 'save' him. I had this motherly instinct towards him and I felt sorry for him. At some point it became more about saving him from himself than about us. There was always lots of drama and then I found out that he had gone back into the business but was trying to keep it from me. At first I thought that I cared about him enough that it didn't matter to me but I was always worried he was going to be hurt or killed. Then I found out he was screwing around on me, keeping a girl on the side like so many of those mob guys do. When I told him I had found out about this other girl he told me if I was going to be with a guy from the mob there were certain things that I would have to live with. I told him there was no fucking way I was going to share a guy with any woman and that he could go to hell."

"Was that the end?" asked Dante with his eyes on the road.

"Yes it was the end. The next week Kate asked me if I would be willing to move to Milan and start a European Crimson and I thought it was like a sign. So I told her yes and moved to Milan the next month. Johnny and I were only together for 5 months or so and of those 5 months I think I was happy 1 month and that is probably an exaggeration. I really haven't thought of Johnny since in anyway other than as an example of how I don't want my life or relationships to be like."

Dante took his eyes off the road and looked over at Lulu, "Since I've gotten to know you, it's been bugging me because I didn't see you as the kind of person getting involved with someone like Zacarra."

"I never thought he would be the kind of guy I would go for either but sometimes things happen in life that sweep you up with them and it's hard to stop even if you want to. In all honesty, that's why I haven't been in a relationship since. I'm a little gun shy, no pun intended."

"Ha, ha, that's funny," Dante pretended to laugh. "So while you were in Europe there was no special guy?"

"Nope," Lulu said emphatically. "Not a one. I dated a few men and I think the whole time I was there I had one second date. I worked a lot and I really wasn't interested in a relationship I was just trying to get Crimson on the stand every month."

Dante took his hand off the steering wheel and put it on Lulu's knee squeezing it, "So we never have to talk about Johnny again if you don't want to. "

"Good, because I don't. What about you Falconeri? Have you been any serious relationships?"

She had turned the tables on him which was fair he guessed but he wasn't sure he wanted to answer her question. He decided he better since she had been so forthcoming about Johnny. "Not a one. I've never really found anyone that interested me enough to stay around." He intentionally left out the 'until you.'

"Wow." I'm not sure that says much about a future for us," Lulu said sarcastically.

Dante responded half jokingly, "Maybe you're the one to make we want to turn over a new leaf."

Lulu felt her stomach do a little somersault and chided herself silently. She heard him say he had never been in a relationship and what made her think she could be the one to change that. That's what she had done with Johnny believing she could change him and look how that turned out. But she had to admit that she really wanted to be the girl that would make him want to stick around.

When they walked into Jake's, Dante's friends from the department were already there. He introduced her to Ronnie and his wife Carmine, Ted and his girlfriend Rachel and Brian and his wife Debbie. They were really nice and Lulu seemed to get along with them really well. The other couples decided to play darts and Lulu suggested to Dante that they play some pool. They played a few games of pool and Dante realized that she was a shark. The first game she played the I haven't played in years card drawing him in, to distract him she leaned a little too far over the table when she took shots so that her dress came up so high he could almost tell what kind of underwear she had on, missing easy shots and the second game she asked if he wanted to wager anything. 

"I don't want to take your money Lulu."

Lulu replied, "Fair enough. How about we wager dances." She had been trying to get him to dance with her all night but he kept making excuses that he hadn't had enough to drink. That wasn't going to change because he was driving and she knew he wouldn't be drinking too much. Besides she was making up for the both of them. She was already on her third beer and about to order a fourth. "Each game I win, you have to dance with me and I get to pick the song."

"Since Dante had seen how she had played the first game, he was pretty sure this would be an easy win. "Okay what do I get if I win?" Dante asked raising his eyebrows with one of those how can you resist me grins.

"You get to go out with me again," Lulu said cockily but then laughed after saying it.

Surprisingly, Dante agreed to that deal. Lulu thought for sure he would want something a little more naughty.

They played two more games and Lulu won both. The first one was close but the second was a run away. "You hustled me," Dante said.

"There's a sucker born every minute or at least that's what my dad taught me." Lulu said mater of factly.

"You little…" Dante reached for Lulu and grabbed her around her waist and pulled her towards him. Lulu put her palms against his chest to push him away. Hey, you owe me two dances and I get to pick the songs."

Dante let her loose and watched her walk over to the juke box to pick the songs. He was a horrible dancer but he never reneged on a bet and he wasn't gonna start now.

Lulu punched in the numbers and raised up turning with a 'what are you gonna do now' kind of look. A slow song began playing and Lulu walked slowly over to him and raised her arms and put them around his neck and put her head on his shoulder. He put his hands at her waist and squeezed rubbing his thumbs just over her hip bones and making her stomach do somersaults again. Their bodies began swaying to the music and Lulu started rubbing the back of his neck with her fingers and weaving them into his hair. He leaned his head down to her neck and breathed in her flowery perfume the fragrance he had come to know as her. He placed a kiss on her neck and darted his tongue out to taste her. He heard her breath catch and her hips pressed against him a little harder. He moved his arms around to her back and held her closer while kissing her neck and shoulder. Lulu raised her head and pulled back from him a little looking for his mouth. She had an overwhelming need to feel his mouth on hers and his tongue inside it. They stood there kissing for probably only a few seconds when Lulu pulled away. "Take me home," she whispered.

Dante looked into her eyes knowing what she meant. She wasn't just asking for him to take her home, she was offering herself to him. He looked questioningly, "Are you sure?"

"Yes." Lulu knew she had had one too many beers and it had loosened her up a bit but she also knew that this was inevitable and would have happened if she had drank or not. She wanted to take a chance and she wanted to take a chance with Dante. She might regret it but tonight she didn't care, she just wanted to be with him.

Dante grabbed Lulu's bag from their table and handed it to her and yelled over to Ronnie that they were going to get going because Lulu had to work the next day. Dante made fast working of getting them in the car and starting the engine. He wanted to get her home before she reconsidered. He grabbed her hand during the drive circling her palm with his thumb. "Do you want to go to my place or your room?" Lulu hadn't thought that far ahead. She didn't want to go to his place because it would be so awkward afterwards with her having no way home but him and what if she couldn't go through with it at the last second.

"We can go to the Quartermaine carriage house that's just inside the gate. Hardly anyone ever stays there anymore and I know where the key is hidden." Edward had even suggested Lulu move in there when she had mentioned she was going to look for a place of her own. It was never really an option for her because she didn't want to be under their watchful eye.

As Dante drove through the gate, Lulu directed him to the carriage house. When he turned off the car he turned and pulled her towards him engaging her in another passionate kiss. He could feel her nipples harden against his chest through her bra and dress. He pulled away and went around the car to open her door. They walked to the door and he watched as Lulu kneeled by a rock and lifted it showing a key. Dante took the key from her hand and went to the door and unlocked it opening it inwards and stepping aside so Lulu could go inside ahead of him. He shut the door and turned towards her.

Lulu felt her cheeks growing pink, and, laughing, he pulled her into his arms, nuzzling her soft golden hair. Her heart was hammering nervously. The tip of her tongue touched her lips briefly, and she put her palms flat against his chest, realizing as she did that they were very much alone. And then his mouth took hers in a fierce kiss that made her weak in the knees. He looked down at her, "Are you all right?" he asked her. Lulu nodded slowly, "I think it's suddenly dawning on me that we're really going to do this." "Kind of scary, huh?" he said. "Listen if you're not ready for this or not in the mood…."

The truth is that I am kinda in the mood." Lulu admitted. I know women aren't supposed to say stuff like this, but, Dante Angelo Falconeri, I really want to jump your bones. But if you're not in the mood…"

Dante grinned down at her. "Lulu, you are something else," he told her. "I want to sink myself so deep in you. I want to make you come and come and come until you can't come anymore. I am more than definitely in the mood." With only moonlight as illumination, Dante turned Lulu so that her back was to him and he swept her hair from her back over her right shoulder and began moving the zipper to her dress down to the middle of her hips. Impatiently he quickly peeled the dress off of her as Lulu stepped out of the puddle of fabric and kicked off her heels. He unfastened her lace bra, and his hand slipped about her to cup her breasts. "God, they feel so good," he murmured in her ear.

Lulu could hardly breathe, and when his two thumbs reached up to seductively rub her nipples she felt herself getting wet. She leaned back against him and sighed deeply. This was going to be good, she felt it deep in her womb.

He bent down to kiss the side of her neck, and his hands released her breasts so he could slip her little lace bikini thong off. He tossed the scrap of fabric to the side. One arm was around her waist and his other hand moved down to her apex and a finger slid along her slit. "You're wet," he said, sounding pleased.

She turned herself in his arms. "Take off your jacket," she said as she undid his leather belt at his waist and began unzipping his jeans. Her hand moved across the opening to his tight boxer briefs and she felt how hard he was already and felt his quick intake of breath.

"Remember what I said about following through?" Dante whispered in her ear.

Lulu remembered from the first night they had made out on his couch after watching Survivor. "I do and I think you can count tonight as a sure thing." Lulu moved her hand to the hem of his t-shirt and began pulling it up over his chest and then over his head and almost moaned in pleasure at his broad smooth, tanned chest. She slid her hand over it and kissed the warm skin.

Dante had managed to get out of the rest of his clothing and he stood back from her. Lulu looked down at his erect penis with a look of surprise. "How big is that?" she asked him.

Ten inches, I measured once," he said.

"You measured?" She laughed.

"In high school. Guys'll do that," he said, looking a little embarassed.

Then he was kissing her again, and his hand was squeezing her butt. He picked her up in his arms and asked, "Where is the bedroom?" She waved her hand in the direction of the bedroom and began kissing his neck and moving up to his earlobe and laving it with her tongue. The entered the bedroom he set her down in the middle of the floor kissing her and running his hands up and down her sides feeling her soft skin. He backed her over to the bed. Lulu kissed him hungrily as she felt him lower her down.

When her back was on the bed he lowered himself over her. "Put your legs up," he murmured and she wrapped her legs around his waist almost crying out as she felt the head of his penis beginning to penetrate her.

"Oh God!" she cried. He was so big and hot and he was buried all the way inside of her. "Please," she begged him, moving her hips to encourage him to start moving inside of her but instead he leaned forward to lick one of her nipples and he sucked hard on it. Lulu let out a cry as his lips and tongue teased her until she really thought she was going to die.

He bit down gentle on her nipple and she cried out again. "Tell me what you want," he whispered in her ear. "Tell it to me carefully and slowly. Tell me what you want, Lulu."

"I want you to fuck me!" she gasped.

"Not detailed enough." He replied.

Lulu's eyes opened to look at him to see if he was joking but she could see he wasn't. Quietly and shyly she said, "Dante, I don't know what to say."

"Just tell me how you want me to make you feel and how you want me to make you feel it."

She closed her eyes again and told him, "I want you inside of me and I want you to move with me and make me come and come and come. Dante! Just do it, damn it," Lulu cried.

He laughed low, and then he began, slowly at first, moving his cock inside of her pressing deeper and deeper and then he gradually began to move inside of her faster and faster. Lulu thought she was going to fall to pieces and then her climax began to roll over her with such an intensity that she thought she was going to faint. And then he stopped, giving her time to regain her breath and her eyes widened realizing that he was still inside of her and still very hard.

He rolled over onto his back taking her with him until she was on top of him with him still inside of her. He placed his hands on her hips and encouraged her to start riding him. She felt the pressure start to build deep inside of her again as she was moving up and down his cock. Her head fell backwards allowing her hair to flow down her back. He moved his hands from her hips to her shoulders running his hands up her neck and framing her face to look at him. "I want you looking at me when I come inside of you."

Just his words sent her over the edge and she cried out, "Yes, Yes," as she climaxed again.

Dante began to push into her faster and faster until she felt him begin to spasm and he came inside of her and the whole time they were staring into each others eyes. Lulu hoped Dante didn't see that she had fallen for him and that this experience with him only served to deepen what she now felt for him. She climbed off of him and laid on her side facing him but burying her face into the side of his neck placing small kisses on it. She didn't want to give him a chance to see anymore than she had probably already given away.

"That tickles," Dante said moving his neck away from her lips.

"You're ticklish?"

"Not normally but sometimes after, I'm a little…" but he didn't finish the sentence.

Lulu giggled. "Now I'll know when you're at your most vulnerable and I can get any secrets you're keeping out of you."

The moment had passed. The moment that Dante was going to tell Lulu how she made him feel. Unbelievably satisfied but wanting more. But most of all she made him feel happy. A feeling he had not felt in a very long time probably since he had found out that Sonny was his father. When his mother had told him Sonny was his father, his whole world just seemed to come apart and he didn't know who he really was. His chosen career careened out of control and people started questioning his ethics and hell he'd even started questioning them. Lulu was starting to help him get his confidence back and realize he was someone other than Sonny Corinthos' son. He had a whole life being raised by a loving mother and extended family that instilled in him his core values and that wasn't going to disappear because some mobster turned out to be his father. Being a mobster didn't get passed down through the blood and his mother made sure it didn't get passed down by witnessing it day in and day out while growing up with it. Dante wrapped his arms around Lulu and laid his chin on top of her head while she burrowed her head deeper into his shoulder and they slept.


	8. Chapter 8

Thank you all for the wonderful reviews. Hope this one is as well accepted.

Chapter 8

Morning light streamed through the window and across the bed. Lulu buried her head underneath a pillow, craving more sleep. It had been a long night. The thought brought memories of the night before and, blushing, she sat up, pushing the hair out of her eyes.

The room was empty. Lulu rose from the bed and went to the bathroom thinking maybe Dante had decided to take a shower but he wasn't there. Disappointed she threw herself back onto the bed and watched a sheet of paper float to the floor. Reaching over the side of the bed she picked the paper up. He had left a note.

"You were sleeping so peacefully I didn't want to wake you. I thought I should leave before one of the Quartermaine's staff noticed a strange car at the carriage house and called the police. Might have been embarrassing. Next time, and there will be a next time, we'll wake up together. Dante"

Lulu grimaced realizing it was probably good he had left but wishing he had woken her up and told her good bye. Maybe they could have made love again. She was already dreaming about him being inside her again. She swung out of bed and headed for the shower, her body stiff and sore in places she'd forgotten all about and she smiled remembering how good he had felt and how good it had felt to be held by him.

Lucky found Dante at his desk staring into space. "Where are you?" Lucky asked nonchalantly.

Dante jerked at the interrupting and blinked his eyes a couple of times trying to get his wits about him. "Just thinking about a case." He would never tell Lulu's brother what he was really daydreaming about, Lulu naked in his arms and him watching her go to pieces. "I'm going to make an arrest in the Reynolds case, finally got a warrant. Want to be my backup?"

"Sure what time are you leaving?" asked Lucky.

"30 minutes. I want to get him before he goes to work." Dante knew that this guy was going to give them trouble and it would not be an easy arrest so he wanted to do it in as little of a populated area as possible.

"You think he's going to give you a problem?" questioned Lucky. "He didn't seem like the type when I saw him."

"You wouldn't think he'd be the type to kill his brother when you first look at him but he did." Dante remembered listening to the tapes after they had convinced the victim's wife to wear a wire. She had finally admitted to Dante that she and her brother-in-law were having an affair and that she had told him they were going to have to break it off because her husband was getting suspicious. Dante had told her that he thought that the brother had killed her husband and she seemed truly shocked. He was still debating that one, whether or not she knew about it all along or if she was in the dark. He knew that they weren't going to get enough evidence to convict the brother without some help from the wife. Sometimes in law enforcement you had to be willing to make some compromises and in this case it was to get one murderer even though you think there might have been two because one was better than none. Mrs. Reynolds had gotten the brother to admit to being afraid of losing her and he knew the only way that they could be together would be to kill his brother. He had submitted a request for a warrant the morning after he had listed to the tapes and it had finally come through. If he did this right, there was a possibility the brother-in-law would turn on the wife once he knew she had worn the wire. They had to get him in custody first.

Lulu was meeting Maxie for lunch at Crimson today. They had finally gotten their schedules to coordinate and Lulu was really looking forward to it. They had a couple of lengthy phone calls but no real heart to heart talk since she had been back. The first thing she was going to say to Maxie was that Dante was off limits. She didn't want to hear from anyone else about Dante being Sonny's son and therefore he isn't any good and she should stay away from him. She had already made the leap and there was no going back so to discuss it was pointless.

"Lulu?", Tracy said walking into her office.

"Thanks for knocking", Lulu said as she looked up from the memo she was reading. "Can I help you Tracy?"

"I've arranged for the ELQ board meeting you were asking for regarding financing issues. I'm going to warn you that we are not going to just hand money over to you because you ask."

"Who'll be attending?"

"Myself, Dad, Sonny Corinthos and Ned is giving me his proxy."

Including her, that would be five votes and all Lulu needed was 3 to get the financing she wanted so if she couldn't persuade Tracy she would have to convince Edward and Sonny to vote yes and then she would be the third vote. "I have given this a lot of thought Tracy and I have put together a convincing proposal. When will the meeting be?"

"Next Monday is the first day that Sonny can be here because he is on his Island and isn't returning until Sunday."

"I'll be ready, but Tracy you have to promise me something." Lulu said very seriously.

"What would that be?"

"You will have an open mind and really listen to the proposal, before you make a decision."

As Tracy walked out of the office she harrumphed and said, "I always have an open mind."

"Did she really say that?" Lulu said sarcastically under her breath.

"Officer down, officer down," the patrol officer yelled into his handset, "We need an ambulance at 920 Victoria Drive."

Lucky was kneeling next to Dante who lay on the ground with blood pouring out of the side of his neck. "Get a fucking ambulance," he screamed at anyone who would listen. He stood and yanked his shirt off and wrapped it around his hand and knelt again to put it to Dante's neck pressing firmly hoping to stem the flow of blood. "Come on Dante, you can't die, just hang on."

It's amazing they thought they were being so careful. Before they left the station they had put their Kevlar vests on and had been fully armed. Dante had a bad feeling about this one and insisted on taking every precaution. They had arrived at the suspect's apartment and did everything by the book. Dante had knocked on the suspect's door and announced that the police wanted to speak with him. As Dante was moving away from the front of the door there was a deafening sound of a bullet tearing through a door and it got Dante right in the neck. It had to be near or in his carotid artery. If it had gotten his carotid artery there may not be much hope. "You've got to hang on Dante, I hear the ambulance now." Once the EMT's had taken over the care of Dante and relieved Lucky of his shirt, Lucky ran over to the quickly put together command center, as the suspect was still holed up in his apartment and refusing to come out. Lucky figured he couldn't help Dante anymore so he would do the next best thing, take down his killer.

During lunch with Maxie, Lulu caught up with all the new Kate drama. It seemed Kate was really upset that Lulu had left Crimson and had put out the word that no other fashion publication should ever hire Lulu Spencer because she was disloyal and didn't like hard work. The latter one really hurt Lulu considering how hard she had worked for Crimson Europe and basically put her life on hold for 2 years. She knew Kate felt like she was a traitor but she had tried to explain to her that she wanted something else and she had been given a golden opportunity when Tracy offered her ELQ.

"Is the nursery done," asked Lulu expectantly.

"You know it, it's been done since a month after I found out I was pregnant. You know I was so on that. It drove Matt crazy and he kept telling me, 'we have 8 months why does it have to all be done now?'"

"I want to see it and we also need to start planning the baby shower that I want to give you", said Lulu rather excitedly.

"You know me, I want it to be first class and none of those stupid shower games that women play," Maxie said.

"We can have it at Kelly's, I'll ask Mike to reserve it on a Sunday for us but we need to set the date. Let's do it three Sundays from now. I'll need a list of everyone you want to invite."

"I'll have my secretary put it together and email it to you,", Maxie said as she started to walk over to the window because she had heard a lot of sirens. AS she looked down, she saw tens of squad cars with sirens blaring heading to the east part of the city. "Wow, there must be something big going on. Lulu come look at this."

Lulu had already stood up from her seat to walk to the window to see what Maxie was looking at. "Wow you're not kidding, wonder what's going on?" Lulu said worriedly. Her first through was of Lucky but her second was of Dante. "I'm going to call Lucky's cell and see if he's okay," she said as she looked up Lucky's number in her contact list. She pushed send and waited for him to pick up.

"Detective Spencer," Lucky answered shortly. Lulu could hear sirens in the background.

"Lucky, are you okay? Maxie and I just saw a bunch of squad cars and I got worried."

"Lulu I can't talk now, we have a situation here. But I need you to do me a favor."

"Anything," she said not know what it was he was going to ask.

"Dante was shot and they took him to the hospital…"

"Lulu heard the words 'Dante was shot' and dropped her cell phone and dropped on her knees to the floor. Maxie looked at her quizzically and picked up the phone.

"Lucky?"

"Maxie? What happened to Lulu? I told her Dante was shot and the ambulance took him to GH. Have her please go and see what is happening. Tell her his mom lives in Bensonhurst and her name is Olivia Falconeri and someone should call her right away. Maxie? It's bad."

"We'll go right now. Don't worry we'll take care of everything," Maxie said as she leaned down to take Lulu's arm to pull her back up. She ended the call and told Lulu, "I'm sorry but we've got to go to the hospital. Lucky says Dante is bad off and we need to notify his mom and see if there is anything else we need to do."


	9. Chapter 9

Thank you all for the wonderful reviews.

Chapter 9

"Gunshot wound coming in," Epiphany shouted to no one in particular in the emergency room. "Put them in Triage 3," shouted Dr. Webber, "Epiphany page Dr. Drake and Dr. Niles to be on standby."

You could feel the intensity and anticipation of the ER and medical personnel waiting for the gunshot wound victim to arrive. Nurse Webber was readying Triage 3 with all of the medical supplies they may need and was putting on her gown and getting the doctors' gowns ready for as soon as they arrived. Doctor Drake arrived first, "Elizabeth, are we ready?"

"Yes doctor," Elizabeth replied while looking around the room to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything.

"Here we go," readied Dr. Drake as he saw the ambulance arrive in the ER parking bay and ran to the bay doors. "It's a police officer guys, heads up." Not that they didn't work as hard on someone that wasn't a police officer but when it was one of the guys in blue that laid their lives on the line for the community there was a different feel and intensity level to make sure they pulled through.

"Gunshot wound to the neck, a lot of blood loss doc, I don't know how he's still breathing. BP 94 over 41, pulse weak and thready. He coded in the van and we started CPR and restarted his heart," barked the EMT. One of the EMT's was holding a large wad of gauze against Dante's neck wound. There was blood everywhere including soaking the gauze. They wheeled Dante into Triage 3 and Doctor Drake and his team took over for the EMT's. Elizabeth looked at Patrick and worriedly said, "This one may be a lost cause."

"There are no lost causes until there are no more options. Wrap his neck as tightly as possible," Patrick yelled over his shoulder, "Epiffany get an OR stat and tell them we are on our way up and be sure that they have lots of O positive. We have to get transfusions started." Just as he finished his order, the machine next to Dante started buzzing indicating that his heart had stopped again. Patrick jumped up on the gurney and started CPR and Elizabeth covered Dante's mouth with a mask pushing air into his lungs with the bulb. "Let's go, let's go," shouted Patrick, as they began rolling Dante to the elevator to race to the O.R.

Maxie had finally gotten Lulu off the floor at Crimson and into her car and they had made it to General Hospital. As they both walked through the ER doors, with Maxie holding Lulu's arm, they saw a gurney being wheeled into the elevator and heard Patrick yelling for blood to be available as soon as he reached the O.R. Although they couldn't see who was on the gurney with all the hospital personnel and equipment around him, they both knew that this must be Dante. Maxie felt Lulu start to collapse again and grabbed her with her other arm. "No girl, you gotta stay with me," stated Maxie. Lulu shook her head to try and clear it. She needed to get a grip on herself and see what she could do to help Dante.

"Maxie, we need to call Dante's mom. Who would have her number?"

Lulu saw the EMT's handing what appeared to be Dante's belongings to a nurse at the ER desk. "Did he have his cell phone with him?" asked Lulu. "Yeah, it's in the bag," replied the EMT. Lulu asked the nurse if she could have his cell so she could call Dante's mother. As the nurse handed her his cell, she asked Maxie, "His mom's name is Olivia, I'm sure her numbers will be in his phone."

Lulu scrolled down Dante's cell's contact list looking for numbers listed for Ma, Mom or Olivia. "Bingo. Her numbers are under Ma." Her hands shaking, Lulu chose the cell phone number option thinking that would be the best bet. As the phone began ringing, Lulu wondered how she was going to break the news to Olivia.

"Hello." answered Olivia with an obvious Brooklyn accent.

"Mrs. Falconeri, you don't know me but my name is Lulu Spencer and your son and I have been dating…" Lulu began.

"Now honey, if your calling to tell me my son broke your heart, I'm sorry but…"

"No ma'am, I have been seeing your son for a couple of weeks but that's not why I'm calling. I don't know how to break this to you. Are you with someone Mrs. Falconeri?"

"Just spit it out honey," Olivia said sounding a little panicked.

"You're son was shot and is on his way to surgery right now. I can tell you it is serious and you should try to get to Port Charles' General Hospital as soon as you can," Lulu blurted out.

Olivia, her throat constricting, said, "I'm on my way. Please let him know I am coming and that his mother loves him. Please." There was a certain element of desperation in her tone that Lulu felt in her own. Maxie led Lulu over to a couch to sit, for who knew how long, waiting for Dante to come out of surgery.

Dr. Robin Scorpio Drake came over to Maxie and Lulu. She sat on the arm of the couch and asked how they knew the police officer. Lulu didn't seem to be able to speak so Maxie answered for her. "I know Dante through Spinelli and Jason, he's the cop that arrested them for breaking federal rules related to internet regulations. Diane got the charges dropped. I think you know that he is Sonny's son. And Lulu here has been dating him for a couple of weeks." Robin leaned down to put her arm around Lulu who was obviously more than distraught and was actually at this point shaking from head to foot as if she was in 0 degree weather in a bikini. "Lulu, Dante is in the best possible hands. My husband is the best surgeon in the country." Nodding, Lulu acknowledged that she had heard Robin but then lowered her head and leaned against Robin's arm.

Lucky came through the ER bay doors following a man on a gurney brought in by EMT's. Lulu saw him and jumped up from the couch and ran to him stopping him in his tracks and putting her arms around his neck. Lucky reciprocated holding the shaking Lulu. "Are you okay sis?" Lulu nodded but tears started rolling down her face as if she had waited for Lucky to finally give in to her grief. Lucky pointed to the man on the gurney and said, "That was the fucker that shot Dante. He won't be hurting anyone else ever." Lulu shuddered realizing that the man must be dead. She felt no relief because she knew that the death of Dante's shooter would not save Dante.

Lucky led Lulu back to the couch and helped her sit down. He looked at Robin and they had a silent conversation with their eyes. Lucky knew with that one look at Robin that things did not look good for Dante. He took a deep breath and said, "Dante is the most stubborn guy I know, he is going to pull through this."

Several hours later the waiting room had almost filled to capacity with fellow officers, friends and family. Olivia had finally arrived and had asked for Lulu. Lulu had told her how sorry she was and they had exchanged a hug. They had made some small talk and then Olivia had started telling Lulu stories of Dante growing up. Even through the agony of waiting to see if Dante was going to live or die a little laughter had come from those stories and a little comfort. Although Lulu felt a connection to Dante they had not been together long enough to exchange much from their pasts.

Olivia had recounted a story from when Dante was 8 and playing stick ball in the streets. He broke his arm but was afraid to tell her because he was supposed to be going to the store for her and not playing stick ball. Olivia said that Dante had gone two days without telling her his arm was hurting until one morning he woke up and the arm was twice its normal size. She said she almost broke his other arm when he told her. By the time she got him to a doctor the arm had already started healing and he had to have surgery to set it.

Finally after more than four hours Elizabeth came out to the waiting room. "He is out of surgery, Dr. Drake will be out in a few minutes to tell you how it went but he wanted me to tell you that Detective Falconeri will be in recovery for a couple of hours and then will go to an ICU room." Questions started coming at her from every direction wanting to know his prognosis and the extent of the damages. Elizabeth put her hands up as if to block the words that were being thrown at her, "Dr. Drake will be out in a couple of minutes to answer all of those questions. I just came to let you know he made it through the surgery."

Dr. Drake came out about ten minutes later. Everyone stood and started towards him. "Is Detective Falconeri's family here?"

"I'm his mother," Olivia said, falteringly, afraid of what he might say to her.

"Mrs. Falconeri, your son had a very serious gunshot wound to the neck. He lost a great deal of blood and we almost lost him a couple of times but he is young and strong and he pulled through. He is not out of the woods yet but his vitals are strong now and I am optimistic that he will come through this. Let's give it 24 hours and then we can have a better idea of his prognosis," Dr. Drake said.

Olivia looked like she was going to fall over from relief. Lucky rushed to her side and took her left arm to steady her. "Doctor, thank you so much for all you've done for my son. I have been praying ever since Lulu called and told me that Dante was shot and I know that God helped you to save him," Olivia said matter-of-factly.

Dr. Drake told Olivia that Dante would be in a room in ICU within the hour and that one or two people could go in at a time but he did not want people staying for longer than ten minutes at a time because Dante needed his rest.

Listening to Olivia and Dr. Drake talk, Lulu stood back letting Dante's mom take the lead. The relief Lulu felt was unbelievable. Dante is alive she kept saying to herself as if to convince herself it was true. Olivia turned to Lulu and asked if she would like to go in with her once Dante was put in a room.

"No, that's for family. You should go in and be with your son," Lulu said. Lulu wanted to make sure that he was okay but she did not want to intrude.

"Nonsense honey, you go in with me. I'm sure Dante would love to hear your voice." Olivia had a feeling about this one. Her son was no stranger to the ladies and usually had one or two around but talking to Lulu while Dante was in surgery, Olivia found her to be very different than the girls Dante usually dated. The girls were always pretty but Lulu had an ethereal beauty about her, a warm glow that radiated from her eyes. She drew you in and she could see how Dante would be taken by her. Maybe more taken with Lulu than he had been with any of his other ladies. Olivia looked forward to seeing how Dante reacted to seeing Lulu once he regained consciousness and then she could form a better opinion about how much he liked her. That is one thing Dante could never hide from her was his true feelings about something. She knew exactly how he felt about something by just looking into his eyes. He could never lie to Olivia, she always knew.

Elizabeth came out within an hour of Dr. Drake telling Olivia that Dante was in his room and that two people could go in for ten minutes and there would be no more visitors until the next day. Olivia took Lulu's hand and they followed Elizabeth down the hall through large double doors that automatically opened. The first glass room they came to had Dante as its occupant. Lulu's breath caught in her chest. He looked so pale and weak, probably from the blood loss. There were tubes and wires everywhere but he was not on a ventilator as she had expected.

Olivia went up to his bedside and took his hand in hers, "Dante? It's your mother, baby. I'm here if you need anything and I love you so much."

Lulu went to Dante's other side and took his fingers in her hand and gave them a little squeeze. They were so cold that she put her other hand over the top as if to form a cocoon to warm his hand. She sat in the seat next to him continuing to hold his hand. Instinctively she brought his hand up to her lips and kissed it. So many feelings washed over Lulu in that moment. Her heart felt as if it would break, it seemed as if she had been through so much in her life and that she was doomed to never be able to achieve true happiness. Something always got in the way no matter how hard she worked for something or wanted deep down for it to happen. Her mother's illness and losing her at such a young age, mentally if not physically, her father never seeming to stick around, Johnny's betrayal with another woman, and the list could go on. She had finally thought after last night that maybe Dante was the one and that she could open up to him and let someone in again and then this. Another obstacle to love. Lulu didn't want to hurt anymore and that is why she had gone to Europe and closed herself off and she should have left it that way when she came back to Port Charles.

_**Sorry to leave it so open ended but you will just have to wait and see what happens next. Please review.**_


	10. Chapter 10

This is a really short chapter and has been terribly hard to write. Hopefully I can pick up the pace for the next one and it will come easier.

Please review! Thank you to those of you who have reviewed.

Chapter 10

Lulu and Olivia were in the waiting room in the early morning hours when a nurse came out to tell them that Detective Falconeri had regained consciousness. She told them they could go back for 30 minutes but they would then have to leave and would not be able to go back in for a couple of hours.

Lulu had seriously considered telling Olivia good night and that she was going to go home. This was becoming too hard. She didn't think she could sit and wait to see if Dante was going to wake up or not. And if he did wake up, how soon before it happened again? She already worried herself sick over Lucky and the chances he took being a cop, she didn't want to actually become attached to someone else who took those same chances. She hadn't thought this thing with Dante through. He had charmed her and she had fallen under his spell. She hadn't even thought about what he did for a living or how becoming enamored with him could have ramifications on her heart. But she didn't leave. She stayed to make sure he woke up.

When they walked in to Dante's room, he had fallen asleep again or it appeared so. However as soon as he heard them, he raised his eyelids. Relief overwhelmed Lulu when she saw those gorgeous brown eyes that were a little woozy but alert nonetheless.

Olivia rushed to his side and asked, "Baby, how are you doing? Are you in any pain?"

Dante answered his mother in a whispered, dry raspy voice, "Yeah, ma. I'm okay…I'll be fine," as he was looking past Olivia at Lulu. Their eyes met and Lulu's filled with tears of relief. Dante whispered, "I guess you met Lulu" to his mother. "I sure did baby and I must say I really like her," Olivia said as she turned to look at Lulu and winked. Lulu smiled and walked to the other side of Dante's hospital bed but she didn't get close enough to touch him.

"You gave us all such a scare," Lulu said to Dante. When he looked into Lulu's eyes, even though he was not at his best, he could see fear in them. He reached his hand toward her silently asking her to come closer. She didn't. Lulu acted as if she had not seen his silent plea and remained just outside of Dante's reach both emotionally and physically. Olivia noticed it right away. She had felt Lulu drifting away from her emotionally while they were in the waiting room. It was as if she had shut a part of herself off when she had first seen Dante in the ICU.

Lulu made some small talk with Olivia and told Dante how glad she was that he had come through the surgery. Feeling an overwhelming sense of urgency to get away from Dante, the hospital, his mother all things related to Dante, she said, "I am going to leave you in the capable hands of your mother. I have to be at work early tomorrow, or rather today." With that, she patted the bed and turned to leave.

Before she could get out of the room, Dante whispered, "Lulu? Will I see you tomorrow?"

She hated to lie but saw no way out of it. Without turning around, she replied over her shoulder, "Sure", and she was gone.

Dante looked over at his mother who was looking at an imaginary spot on the bed looking extremely uncomfortable. "I won't see her tomorrow will I?"

Olivia responded, "Honey, I don't think so."

As Lulu rode down in the elevator and reached the bottom floor of the garage and exited, she began to run as fast as she could to her car. Once in the car she allowed herself to cry with relief that he was okay, Her whole body shook with the sobs of relief as well as a sense of loss because she didn't think this was something she would be able to live with from day to day, the worry that at any time someone could call her and say that Dante was hurt again or even worse, dead.

_**Again, please review.**_


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Dante was struggling to breathe as the blood poured out of his neck wound. Lulu tried desperately to hold it in with the only thing she had, her hands. She felt the warm blood oozing out over her hands and arms, life literally seeping out of him, and kept trying to stem the flow. She was screaming for someone to please help her because he was going to die.

"Lulu! Wake up dear," said Edward, gently shaking Lulu's shoulder.

Lulu jerked upright in the bed not knowing where she was but looking for Dante wanting to continue to try and save him. She looked up at Edward and blinked a few times to clear her eyes, until she realized it was just a dream or a nightmare more like.

"Lulu honey you were having a terrible nightmare. I was passing your room and you were screaming for someone to help you. You know dear your mother had nightmares like this before she had to go to Shadybrook."

"Thanks Edward", Lulu said as she threw the covers back and grabbed for her robe. "I don't think I'm losing my mind. If that were the case I would have done it long ago when my father moved me into this looney bin."

"There's no call to be insulting. We've welcomed you with open harms here at our home even though you have had your issues. But we won't go into that now dear. I'll see you downstairs for breakfast in the study." Edward left the room shutting the door behind him as Lulu glared at him with a gaze that surely could be felt.

"It's not even your house you old codger", she yelled at the closed door.

She sat on the edge of the bed to try to pull herself together. She had had this dream every night since she had left Dante's hospital the morning after his accident, 6 days ago. Lulu had not been to see him since. She called Maxie daily to get updated on his condition through Matt. Dante was recovering nicely and would probably be released from the hospital tomorrow. He was going to his mom's apartment so that she could be there during his recuperation but no one thought that would be longer than a week.

Today was moving day. She thought she should be much happier about it than she was. Getting out of the Quartermaine drama had been her main goal but even that didn't matter anymore. She had tried to get out of the lease she had signed at Dante's building but the landlord refused and in order to buy out of the lease it would have cost her thousands of dollars that she didn't have. She certainly wasn't going to ask Tracy for it so she was just going to have to suck it up. They weren't going to be living on the same floor so how often would she even see him? She kept telling herself, not often.

She had shut off her emotions after leaving him that morning in the hospital. She had been working 16 to 18 hour days and was so tired at night she really didn't have time to think. Maxie had tried to get her to come to Crimson, out to lunch, Kelly's, her house, anything she could, to get Lulu back into life. It did not go unnoticed and Lulu appreciated Maxie as a friend but the last thing she needed was to get back into life. The more she just trudged ahead with work and the goals she had set at ELQ the more Dante would become a distant memory. No more hurt or worry.

Olivia was waiting in his room when Dante came out of his hospital room's bathroom, freshly showered. "You look pale son. Maybe you should lay down for a few minutes while we are waiting for your release papers."

Dante sat on the side of the bed thinking about putting his shoes and socks on but dreading the task as the shower had depleted most of his energy. He had lost a lot of blood and even though he had been given a blood transfusion, the doctors said that it would take a while for his red blood cells to multiply and he would be tired because of it for a while.

"Have you come to your senses now?" questioned Olivia. "You can see there is no way you can go back to your loft right away. You are much too weak. You are coming back to the city with me so I can take care of you, feed you and nurse you back to health."

"No ma, I'm going back to the loft. All I need is rest. You can bring me your Italian love packages filled with all of your great food and I will be fine. I just want to get well so I can get back to living my life."

Dante convinced the doctors that he could go home a day early. The plan had been for him to get released tomorrow and he would go home with his mother. Instead he was going home today, to his loft. It had taken some doing but Patrick had finally given in and said that if Dante promised not to go back to work for at least a week, he could go home today.

Matt stuck his head in Dante's room, "Hey, how are you doing? "

Dante glanced over at the door, "Hey, good, I guess. I get to go home today."

"Really? Good for you. You going home with Olivia?"

"No, my loft. I'm a big boy I can take care of myself."

"You have a pretty serious injury and went through a long surgery, I wouldn't be too sure about staying by yourself."

"Exactly what I've been trying to tell him," said Olivia. "Do you think you'll listen to reason now?"

Dante gave Matt a death glare, "I think I can make my own decisions about where I'm going to recover."

Matt held his hands up and said, "Sorry man, not trying to get in your business. Just be careful," and walked back out the door.

As Matt left Dante's room he was dialing Maxie's cell number. She had given him specific instructions to keep up with Dante's condition and whereabouts and since everything he had told her yesterday had changed he thought he better let her know. "Hey, honey I just left Dante's room. He's getting released today and going home to his loft….I know what I told you yesterday but what can I say, he changed his mind." Matt heard the click and realized Maxie had just hung up on him.

This move was not like Lulu had dreamed it would be. When Dante had told her on one of their dates that he and some of his friends would help her move in, she had pictured having to buy lots of beer and deli sandwiches with lots of laughter and secret looks between her and Dante thinking about using her bed in her new place for the first time…together. Instead she was watching 4 guys she had hired from a moving company that were having trouble keeping their pants up banging, what little furniture she had, on the walls. They were almost done and then she could start unpacking. The Quartermaines had let her raid a couple of their storage rooms for any furniture she might need and then she had all of the stuff Maxie had packed up and put into storage when she had married Matt and subleased their apartment. All in all it would be quite liveable and she could add pieces as time went by.

She couldn't wait until she had her landline installed and wished she had thought to do that before she moved in. In all the chaos she had lost her wall charger for her cell and it had died two hours ago and she had no connection with ELQ if anyone needed her. One of the moving men had let her use his cell phone to call the office and let them know she was out of communication but if they needed her they could send a messenger over.

The last thing the movers had to bring in was a mahogany credenza to go behind her couch. They were questioning whether or not it was going to fit in the elevator or if they were going to have to bring it up the stairs. The movers had gone down to measure it when Lulu remembered that Alice had told her that the doors could be removed easily for moving. She ran down the stairs to catch them before they started moving it. As she pushed through the ground floor door and rushed through she ran right into Dante Falconeri.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

He saw her coming at him but was so surprised that he didn't have time to react and stop her from running straight into him. He raised his arms with a grimace and gave a grunt, from the pain that shot from his neck to his chest, trying to stop some of the impact of her body hitting into his. For a minute he thought he might faint the pain was so intense.

"I'm so sorry", Lulu said. "Are you okay?", she asked holding his arms, realizing that he might just keel over any minute.

"I'm fine", he said, pushing her away with his already raised arms. Lulu saw in his face what it was taking of his remaining strength to not completely crumble to the ground. Other than a fleeting glance into her eyes, he kept his eyes diverted. Could she blame him, he must think I am a complete bitch. She remembered her words to him that she would see him tomorrow which was now 7 days ago. It had been a week since she had looked into those deep soulful brown eyes, and she realized how much she had missed him. She had tried to forget it all, forget him and all she had begun to feel for him but tumbling into him had brought all those feelings crushing in on her.

Dante pushed past her on his way into the elevator.

"I'm sorry," whispered Lulu.

As the elevator doors began to shut, Dante finally raised his head to look her right in the eyes, "I'll stay out of your way if you stay out of mine."

Well that had answered his question. He had actually been worried even though Dr. Matt Drake had reassured him several times that Lulu was fine just really busy with her new job and a move she was making. He realized after having his mom text Lulu for him, repeatedly, with no response, that he was being dumped. Each day he had told himself that something had happened to keep her away and that she would show today. She never showed. It's not like he had never been dumped before. Well, only once or twice because he usually did the dumping, but he always did it in a nice way. He always made sure that he didn't let the women he had been with think it was anything long term and never told them things that would make them think it was more than a good time. This was different, he had become attached, very attached. He had even begun to think about introducing her to his family which he had never done with any other girl. Most other girls were either short term distractions or neighborhood girls that already knew his family.

His heart was still beating quickly at the feel of her touch. He balled his fist up and punched at the elevator wall out of frustration. He immediately wished he had not done that as the pain shot down his neck and into his chest.

As the elevator doors opened up he smelled his mother's spaghetti sauce. His mouth began to water. "I hope you made extra for freezing Ma," Dante said to Olivia as she stood behind his stove stirring the sauce.

"You know I did Dante. You will have 3 containers full for lunches or dinners but I will be coming to check on you every couple of days so I know you won't run out of food. How was your walk? Did you clear the cobwebs?"

"You'll never guess who I ran into, literally."

"Who, hon?" asked Olivia.

"Lulu. She must have moved in to her loft today," Dante said with a shake of his head.

"Oh, did she say anything?" asked Olivia hesitantly.

"Yea. She's sorry. I didn't give her a chance to say anything else. I'm not interested."

"Well I wish I would have run into her. I would give that girl a piece of my mind. Who in their right mind would run out on my fine catch of a son? She's not as smart as you gave her credit for honey and you should just forget her, she's not worth the gum under your shoe." Olivia ranted.


	13. Chapter 13

Sorry it has taken so long for me to update. Real life got in the way but due to the current s/l and so many depressed Lante fans, I thought I should do my part to help us through it.

Chapter 13

Lulu couldn't concentrate. She kept seeing him in the elevator and hearing his words for her to stay out of his way and that he would stay out of hers. She bowed her head over her keyboard as tears began to roll down her face. For the first time in a long time, she had found someone that she thought she could see herself making a future with and she froze up at the first sign of trouble. Wasn't that always her problem? So damn worried that she might get hurt and afraid to put herself out there but she had for Johnny, who wasn't worth it, but she wouldn't for Dante, who was worth it. A guy who actually upholds the law and has morals and ethics. Maybe that was the point, she felt she didn't deserve anything good in her life.

"Lulu, did you ask me not to put calls through?" asked Theresa.

Lulu just about jumped out of her seat at the sudden interruption Theresa made on her thoughts. Quickly swiping the back of her hand across her face, she turned towards the door, "What? I'm sorry I was just a little lost in thought."

"Mr. Corinthos is on the line to discuss last Monday's board meeting. I tried putting him through but you didn't pick up. I thought you said to be sure to put any board member through if they called."

"I did. Go ahead Theresa. Sorry."

Theresa walked out of the office with a bewildered look on her face. _Theresa must think I'm a complete moron the way I have been this week. _Lulu jumped when her phone buzzed. _"Man, I've got to get my act together or I'm going to have a complete melt down." Lulu said to herself._

"Sonny, what can I do for you?" Lulu asked a little overly brightly.

"Lulu, I wanted to discuss the financing issue you brought to the board last Monday."

"I know Tracy is against it but I think if you read completely through my proposal you will see that the only thing that can come from this is ELQ growing in the global markets…"

"Wait a minute, you don't have to convince me" Sonny laughed. "I'm all for it and that is why I was calling to give you my proxy because I won't be able to make the next board meeting. I'm travelling abroad."

"Oh, that's fantastic, thank you so much," Lulu said while throwing her fist in the air as a sign of triumph. "I'll send over the proper power of attorney for your signature. When are you leaving?"

"The day after tomorrow. I had planned to leave earlier but my son who is a cop was injured in the line of duty and was in the hospital and I had to cancel my trip."

"You're talking about Dante?" Lulu said a little surprised that he had brought him up to her. She surmised that he must not know that Dante had dated her.

"Yes, do you know him?" Sonny asked.

"As a matter of fact Sonny, Dante and I went out a few times. He is a really great guy."

"Wow, small world huh? My son and my best friend's daughter are dating. Dante is a great man. I had little to do with that because he was raised entirely by his mother, but I am trying to get Dante to let me into his life, but he is as stubborn as I am and can't get past my profession."

"No, Sonny, Dante and I aren't dating. We went out a few times and I do think he is a great guy. I do understand how he might be wary of starting a relationship with you. I hate to say it but you pretty much embody everything Dante is against." Lulu replied.

"But I am his father no matter what my profession and I don't plan on giving up trying to have a relationship with him and that is not going to change. I will wear him down." Sonny said emphatically. Maybe you could put in a good word for me? What do you say, just tell him I'm not the monster he makes me out to be."

"I don't think I'm the one to cheer you on to Dante. Your son and I didn't part amicably." Lulu said a little ashamedly.

"He didn't break your heart now, did he Lulu?"

"I don't know if I should be talking to you about this but in all honesty you are the only person who hasn't told me how bad Dante is for me because you are his father."

Sonny replied sarcastically, "Thanks, I think."

"I really like Dante, a lot. Probably more than I even want to admit to myself but when he got shot, I got scared. You know I can be a pretty closed off person with my emotions. I panicked and started thinking about his career and if something happened to him how hard it would be and decided it would be better to just cut the cord. I left his hospital room and never called or went back. Pretty shitty thing to do, huh?"

"Sometimes we do things that we regret in our life. I've done a lot I regret so I can't really judge you. You have to do what is best for you and ultimately that will be best for Dante. If you can't live with the fact Dante is a cop then it is better for him that you realize it early."

"What would you say if I told you I might be regretting pushing Dante away?"

"A person's heart is not something you can play around with. I think you need to make sure of what you want before you jump into anything, especially with Dante. Lulu, you know I think of you like a daughter but I don't want him hurt any more than he already has been. It has been hard on him learning that his mother has kept the fact that he had a father, from him and then learning that I am that father was quite a setback, I'm sorry to say."

Lulu knew she didn't want to hurt Dante anymore. The memory of his eyes looking at her from the elevator with such anger and hurt was enough to halt her in her tracks.

"Thanks for taking the time to talk with me Sonny. And thanks for voting for the financing. Edward has agreed so now even if Ned and Tracy vote against it I will still be able to proceed. I'll send the power of attorney to your house this afternoon and have the messenger wait, if that's okay?"

"Sure, I'll be home the rest of the day. Oh, Lulu?"

"Um hum."

"Dante could do worse, don't underestimate your strength. I've seen it first hand."

"Thanks. I'll see you when you get back." Lulu returned the handset back to the base and looked out her window wondering where Dante was right now.

Shirtless, barefoot, with only a pair of gray sweats that rode low on his hips, Dante stood at his loft window with a cup of coffee. As he took a sip he wondered what Lulu was doing right now. It had been 4 days since she had run into him in the building. He hadn't seen her since even though any time he left the loft he was always scanning the hallways and parking lot for any sight of her. Man, don't you have any pride, he said to himself. She's not interested – get over it. He could not wait to get back to work. His appointment with Dr. Drake was at 2:30 this afternoon and hopefully he would tell him he could return to work on Monday of next week. His recovery was going great and sitting around the loft was getting pretty old. Dante heard the hum of the elevator on it's way up and turned to wait to see who would be there when the doors opened.

"Lucky, why aren't you at the office?"

"Checking on you bro. How are you feeling?"

"Bored. Want some coffee?"

"Sure. When are the docs gonna release you to come back to work? I need my partner back. The cases are piling up and I'm working 16 hours a day just to keep my head above water."

Dante walked over the coffeepot and poured Lucky a cup, I want to be working as bad as you want me to be working. I can't stand sitting around this place. You can only watch so much ESPN and believe me I never thought I would say that." He handed lucky the cup and sat down on the couch across from Lucky who was sitting in the chair.

Lucky took a sip of coffee, "Lulu moved in here last weekend."

"I know. I saw her." Dante said looking down at his coffee cup as if it held a new fascination.

"You know I'm not one to butt into anyone's business. You're mom told me what happened at the hospital and that Lulu hasn't answered any of your calls."

"My mom needs to mind her own business.", Dante finally looked Lucky in the eyes. "I haven't listened to my mom's romance advice since I was 9 and I told her I kissed Mary Frances Petrillo on the playground. She proceeded to tell Sister Anita that 9 year olds should be watched more carefully and from that day on they separated the girls from the boys during recess. I was the pariah of the 3rd grade, so I wouldn't put too much stock in what my mom told you."

"Dante, this isn't the 3rd grade and she is only trying to look out for you."

Dante looked down at his coffee again and said sheepishly, "Yeah, I know, she's just looking out for me. But I don't need her to. I'm a grown man and I can take care of my own heart."

"I usually mind my own business and don't get into Lulu's love life but in retrospect I don't think that has served her very well. I think Lulu really likes you."

Dante threw up his arms, almost spilling his coffee, "Yeah, right, she has a great way of showing it."

"I don't know how much Lulu told you about her past, but it hasn't been pretty. Our mom has been in and out of mental facilities, our dad comes in and out of our lives like a tom cat that someone tries to house break, any guy she has had a relationship with has either lied to her or cheated on her or even worse lied and cheated. She has serious trust issues and most of all she is petrified of getting hurt again. I think when you got shot she realized that she was putting her heart in another vulnerable position and she didn't want to take the chance of being hurt again. Just the thought that she might lose someone she cares about sent her running for the hills."

"Lucky, there's nothing I do about that. It's my job and it can be dangerous and there's no changing that."

"I know. I'm just saying don't give up on her. If you have feelings for her just give her some time because I'm pretty sure she has feelings for you and they aren't going to go away just because her head decided to not take a chance."

Dante nodded his head and said, "I'll think about what you said."

Lucky stood to leave and pushed the down button for the elevator, "That's all I'm asking. She's my sister and I love her but she can be really stubborn and a big pain in the ass."

Dante watched Lucky get in the elevator and the doors close as he gave a slight wave of his hand. If he was going to give it another try with Lulu, it was gonna be on his terms.

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	14. Chapter 14

Thanks for the great reviews. Hope you like this chapter too!

Chapter 14

Lulu unlocked her loft door and walked in. It was late and she had just come from the gym after an intense workout trying to exhaust her body so she would be able to sleep and not think. Not think about Dante. She hadn't even bothered to shower at the gym. She decided to come straight home, shower and go right to bed. She hoped that she would get some much needed sleep.

Lulu didn't even turn on the living room light intending on going straight to the bathroom for a much needed shower. As she started for the bathroom she pulled her tank top over her head leaving just her sport bra and preparing to jump right in the shower.

"You should lock your fire escape window," a voice projected from the darkness.

Lulu's heart rose to her throat and she opened her mouth as if to scream but just as in her nightmares she was unable to utter a sound no matter her feeling of terror at the unexpected presence. Panicking, she ran towards the bathroom hoping to lock herself inside. Just before reaching the doorway, she was grabbed from behind and she felt a hand cover her mouth. She bit down hard and tasted blood.

"Goddamnit Lulu. You drew blood," the man behind her bellowed.

Quickly turning around to take advantage of the person's distraction, Lulu started to run towards the door and then realized whose voice she heard. Turning back towards him, Lulu yelled, "Dante, what the hell are you doing? You practically gave me a heart attack."

Lulu ran across the room to turn on her floor lamp next to the couch and picked up her tank top on the way and put it back on. As light invaded the space she turned and saw Dante holding his right hand with blood dripping down his fingers. "What were you thinking?" Lulu asked.

"Obviously I wasn't." Dante said with a grimace.

Lulu walked over to him and took his hand and turned to lead him to the bathroom sink. She turned on the hot and cold water and held her index finger under the spigot waiting for the water to warm up. When it did she put Dante's hand under the spigot and washed it with anti-bacterial soap, focusing on his middle finger that had an angry bite mark on it near his palm and showed signs of blood oozing from it. She felt Dante's gaze on her in the mirror but she didn't look up from his hand. She knew he would see how much she wanted to turn into him and have his arms close around her. She rinsed his hand with clean water and then opened the cabinet on the wall to retrieve rubbing alcohol, anti-biotic ointment and band aids. She opened the rubbing alcohol bottle and poured it over the bite mark.

"Shit Lulu that stings," Dante said while grabbing his hand from her.

"Don't be a baby. Bites can get infected very easily. We have to make sure it is disinfected really well," Lulu said while grabbing his hand back. She took a finger towel from its holder and dried his hand, put the ointment on and wrapped two band aids around his finger to cover the bite.

Up until this point the silence had not been uncomfortable but the air seemed to be fraught with electrical currents now. Lulu became more aware of the small confines of her tiny bathroom and turned to exit. She turned and put her arm on his side to push him out of the way so she could get by him. Dante did not move except for raising his hand from his side to put it on Lulu's right hip as if to prevent her from leaving.

"I swore I wouldn't do this," Dante whispered as he bent his head with a low grunt for the pain from his neck wound and put his lips on the spot between Lulu's jaw and neckline and kissed it. Lulu turned her head towards him and then their lips met. It was like a fire being started with lighter fluid. Dante backed Lulu up against the counter and she could feel how hard he already was as he ground his hips into hers. Lulu put her arms around Dante's neck and ran her hands through his hair as their lips molded to each others and their tongues explored each others mouths. Dante raised her up to sit on the edge of the sink and moved his hips in between her legs pressing into her as far as clothes would allow as she in turn pressed her hips to his manhood. He moved his hands to the hem of her tank top and started to pull it up but with a sudden realization of what they were doing, Lulu dropped her hands to Dante's chest and began pushing him away.

Dante pushed against her hands trying not to let her push him away yet again. Finally, Dante backed away from Lulu at her hands insistence. Their lips parted and he could feel the chill when their bodies separated. He shook his head as if to clear his thoughts and looked into her eyes.

"I know you want this. I can see it in your eyes and feel it in your body's response to mine. I didn't plan on coming over here and waiting just to pounce on you. I wanted to talk to you and find out why you just decided to act as if I didn't exist."

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	15. Chapter 15

Thanks for the great reviews. Hope you like this chapter too!

Chapter 15

Lulu pushed past Dante. He followed her toward the kitchen which was much like his, part of a bigger room which was sectioned off to make a living area, eating area, kitchen and bedroom. With the lights on, he could now see she had decorated her loft beautifully. Definitely looked very female. She even had a room divider that separated her bed from the living area for privacy with some sort of geometric shapes all over it.

Dante walked over to the kitchen counter and watched as Lulu opened a bottle of wine. She took a glass down and waved it toward him, as if to ask if he wanted one too. He nodded his head and she took down another glass and poured the red liquid in the goblets and handed him one. Lulu remained behind the counter sipping her wine. It was as if she wanted to keep something between them for protection. He wondered what she was trying to protect herself from, her reaction to him or his reaction to her.

"You know I got shot a couple of weeks ago and I almost died."

"I know," Lulu said as she leaned back against the counter.

Dante looked down at his wine goblet, "You know it's hard on people who are close to cops. The danger can really mess with you." Dante looked up at Lulu's face and saw the tears starting to flow. She sat her glass on the counter and bent over as if in pain.

"Lulu?" Dante said as he rushed around the counter to get to her. "What's this, what's this?" he asked in a low voice. He pulled her up to him and she laid her head on his chest and began to sob. He put his arms around her and stroked her pony tail and back trying to comfort her.

"Shhhh, I'm alive, everything's gonna be fine. It takes a lot to get rid of me," Dante laughed.

"I'm so sorry, I don't even know how you can look at me," Lulu said with her ear to his heart listening to the beating. "Everyone I ever care about leaves or can't commit to me and when I saw you lying in that hospital bed so weak and hurt I just couldn't stand to think that you were just gonna be another person in my life that was going to leave. Maybe not that day but eventually, and I couldn't get out of that room fast enough," she said as her tears started to slow and she raised her head to look him in the eyes. "I just don't want to hurt anymore."

"So in order to not hurt anymore, you are willing to never have any happiness either?" Dante asked as he rubbed her shoulders.

"I don't know. I just don't know anymore. I never expected to meet someone like you and my life was going along just fine."

"Look at me," Dante said putting his hand under her chin.

Lulu looked in those dark brown eyes and saw so much emotion. Hurt, compassion and maybe even some resentment.

"Maybe you should wear a sign around your neck warning any potential suitors not to get attached because you're sure as hell not."

"I think you can see that's not true," Lulu said while pulling away and walking to the couch. "I did get attached and that's why you're getting shot scared me so much. I'm always worried about Lucky and now I'm going to have to worry about you too."

"We all worry about the people we care about. You could get hit by a bus when you're crossing the street but I can't not want to be with you because that might happen. I just have to hope you look both ways before you take a step off the curb," Dante said and grinned.

Exasperated, Lulu said, "It's not funny."

"Why not? What good does it do to dwell on what might happen when we should be enjoying what is happening and what I think was happening with us." Dante walked around the counter towards Lulu and gestured between them, "I'm just gonna lay it out there. I was falling in love with you. Hell, I think I am in love with you."

Lulu looked at Dante with those beautiful amber eyes, opening wider at his revelation. "I love you too," she said.

Lulu rushed into his waiting arms and he held her tightly as she put her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder.

"I had a conversation with Sonny today and you came up," Lulu said while raising her head to look at him.

"Me?"

"He's on the ELQ board and he called to discuss a proposal I made and he mentioned he hadn't gone out of town because his son had been injured. Long story short I told him that we had dated and he basically told me to be sure of what I wanted. I'm sure, "Lulu said breathlessly.

Dante looked down at Lulu, "There's no halfway here. You're either all in or nothing. My job hasn't changed, I am in harms way almost every day. I don't take idiotic chances. I wear my Kevlar, I call for back up when I need it and most of all I don't go head first into dangerous situations. You have to decide if you can handle that. When you do, you know where to find me," Dante kissed Lulu on the top of her head, dropped his arms from around her and proceeded to the door.

Lulu watched him open the door and just before he went through it, he said, "Be sure to keep that fire escape window locked." Then he was gone.

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	16. Chapter 16

Sorry I'm not a big Survivor fan and don't know a whole lot about it. I'm not even sure why I picked that show for them to be obsessed with so forgive my license with Survivor facts.

Chapter 16

When Dante had left, Lulu stood looking at the closed door for a few minutes trying to get her thoughts and feelings together. She continued this process while taking a shower she so desperately needed after her earlier gym workout. All she could think about was Dante and what a loss it would be if she didn't try to make things work with him. She knew what it felt like to hurt over a guy, but all her previous boyfriends had purposely hurt her. They had made calculated decisions that would end up crushing her heart. Dante had gotten shot in the line of duty. Not his fault and certainly not calculated to cause her heartbreak. Now was her time to try to build a solid relationship with a solid guy. She just needed to take the risk and she decided that Dante was worth the risk.

After Dante had left Lulu's, he went back to his loft and downed a couple of beers. He had actually thought about going to Jake's and having a couple of shots but he didn't want to be around people right now. If the truth be told, he was worried. Maybe he should have stayed with Lulu and talked things through more. Maybe he would have gotten a better perspective of how she was really feeling about letting herself be open to a relationship with him. He thought he was going to crawl out of his skin if he didn't get a grip on himself and his thoughts. Maybe TV would distract him.

As he moved toward the couch to grab the remote, there was a knock at his door. He switched directions and went to the door and opened it. There at his doorstep was a barefoot Lulu with damp hair curling around her beautifully scrubbed clean face. There she stood in a gray T and sweatpants looking like a million bucks to him with a bucket of popcorn in her arms.

"Hey," Dante said a little surprised.

"Hi. I thought maybe we could watch Survivor together. I brought the popcorn," she said brightly with that gorgeous smile of hers.

Dante decided to just roll with it. "Come on in. I was just getting ready to turn the TV on. Want a drink?"

"A diet soda, if you have one."

"Diet Coke okay?"

"That's great," Lulu said as she went over to the couch and put the bucket of popcorn on the coffee table and picked up the remote to turn on the TV. As she sat on the couch, she pushed the power button and put in the correct channel number.

Dante brought her diet Coke and his beer over to the couch. He handed her the diet Coke and watched her take a sip and put it on the coffee table. He did the same with his beer and sat down next to Lulu. Not touching her but close enough that if he wanted to touch her he easily could. Boy did he want to touch her.

Survivor started and they started to talk about the previous episodes that Dante had missed while he was in the hospital and Lulu brought him up to speed so when the tribal counsel came he would know what was happening. They bickered back and forth about the contestants they wanted to win, which were not the same, and decided to wager a dinner if one of their contestants won.

"Dinner on the loser, wherever the winner wants to go," Dante said.

"It's a bet," Lulu agreed.

When the show was done, both Lulu and Dante were happy because both of their choices to be winner had remained in the game.

Dante had managed to get closer and closer to Lulu during the show and by the end her right side and his left side were pretty much touching from shoulder to knee. Lulu hadn't moved away which was a good sign. He was glad he had on loose jeans because he had been in pretty much a state of arousal since halfway through the show. He was barely able to concentrate on it.

Dante put his hand on her knee and rubbed it with his thumb and asked, "Do you want another diet Coke?"

Lulu giggled and tried to pull her knee out of his grasp.

"Are you ticklish?" Dante asked while continuing to squeeze her knee to elicit more giggles.

Trying to get away from his squeezing hand, Lulu layed on the couch cushions with her head on the arm of the couch.

"Where else are you ticklish?" Dante asked moving his hand from her knee up her thigh, to her hip and finally at her waist.

It was at this point Lulu realized she wasn't ticklish anymore and stopped giggling and looked into Dante's dark brown eyes as he leaned over her. She just wanted him to kiss her, badly.

"Are you sure?" Dante asked suddenly turning serious.

Lulu shook her head yes and reached out her arms to him, bidding him to come down to her. He leaned down and softly touched her lips with his. He gently moved his lips over hers until she opened them for his tongue to enter. He maneuvered his body between hers and the back of the couch so he wouldn't hurt her with his weight.

Lulu's hands began to explore his chest and abdomen, feeling the constricted muscles trying to maintain control. Her hands went up to the sides of his face and up until they tangled in his hair and she tried to pull his head even closer to her. Their kiss deepened.

Dante's hand was moving up and down her side from shoulder to waist and then moved to the hem of her shirt moving it upward until her bra was exposed. He took his lips from hers and moved his mouth to her right breast, kissing and sucking on it through the material of her bra. He started to move to the left but the confines of the couch wouldn't allow it in their position.

He raised his head to look at Lulu and asked, "Would you be okay if we moved to the bed?"

Lulu replied in a whisper, "I thought you'd never ask."

He stood up from the couch and leaned over to pick Lulu up and lifted her into his arms. She put her arms around his neck careful not to touch the bandaged area and linked her arms behind it and laying her head down between his shoulder and neck and began kissing it while occasionally giving it a lick.

"Hmmmm," Dante hummed showing his pleasure at her attention to his neck. When he reached the bed he gently laid her down on it and positioning himself on top of her as he looked down into her eyes. "I want you Lulu," he whispered. Then he lowered his mouth to hers, teasing her with his tongue, their bodies fitting together like a puzzle. Shivers went through her as he deepened the kiss, pulling her deeper and deeper until she wondered if she would drown in the sensation of him. With fumbling hands they removed their clothes, touching, exploring, the need to be skin to skin driving them both to a frenzy. His fingers curved around her smooth skin, massaging lower and lower until he held her breast in his hand, her nipple going tight at his touch. She arched against his hand, driven by her need, and she felt his body harden against hers. She opened her legs, feeling him against her skin. She needed him physically but there was something more, an overriding feeling that this was right and that somehow, here, now and with him it was meant to be.

Bracing himself above her, he thrust into her and she cradled him deep inside. They rocked together, the rhythm coming naturally. She clung to him realizing, for the first time in her life, what it meant to be in love. There would always be the chance that something would tear them apart. But, here in the warmth of Dante's bed, locked in his arms, Lulu let herself go. Let herself dream. Let herself believe, for the moment at least, that anything was possible.

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